Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Humans.
Born to Not Fit In
I realized growing up that I was different from the rest of the world. Not because I have a different set of fingerprints or that my social security number was one of kind, but that I physically looked different. When I was 5-years-old and truly started to see a difference in the way I looked, I thought it was AMAZING! I had an insight that no one else had. To give you some background information of where I’m coming from, I have a very diverse heritage. My ethnicity includes black, white, Native American, Puerto Rican, and a bit of Haitian. My dad had red hair and freckles, my mom had the lightest skin a black woman could have (in my 5-year-old opinion), my older two siblings were definitely a lighter shade of brown than I was, and then there was me. Don’t get me started on my white cousins who lived in California. But growing up through the ages of 5 - 10, I saw myself as “lucky” given that I could relate to some many people of color. Then society hit hard, and my innocence was quickly taken away. I was being told through social media that there was a right way to look, and that was not me. Here, let me take you on a journey of why I was born not to fit in.
By Erika Watson8 years ago in Humans
Love Languages 101
When it comes to love, our styles are as unique as our features. The way we communicate love to one another is usually the sum of all the ways we have learned to express love in our past. Soaking up lessons on love from our parents, teachers, romances and TV shows. Sometimes, serendipitously, you find a friend or a lover who seems to be already fluent in your love language. On the other hand, some people have to practice at learning to speak the other's lingo. It can feel like each person is giving it their all, but still there is a disconnect. But don't lose hope! By understanding how the other person accepts love and gives love, the communication will flow and each person will feel appreciated and equal. Here are some ways to note your different love languages:
By Danielle Lmt8 years ago in Humans
Only Human
Rows were filled with people. Everyone settled into their seats. A few people talked. Not in a rude way. Probably in a respectful way, saying something about George. The first row was sparsely occupied by a few people, all in tears, all hunched over, quietly sobbing to themselves. They didn't seem too focused on the crying though. They seemed to be either learning how to bottle it and hide it or trying to get it all out of their system. They were thinking about the speech. That's what it's called, right? The eulogy comes later? They save that for a family member or loved one, surely? Or do we call it a eulogy even if it's from the guy who only learnt of George after death, and probably has all he knows about the man summed up in cliff notes in his pocket to learn beforehand. Yeah, I'd say that's the case. It'd be weird to say the minister gave a speech on George. It makes it seem like it's accompanied by PowerPoint slides and a brief Q&A. Eulogy sounds better.
By Joel Jackson8 years ago in Humans
Am I a Soft Boy?
For as long as I was able to look for categories of belonging in books, on the television, movies, fashion articles, I had always managed to discard those as proper descriptors for who I felt I was. You can’t put people in a box, you can’t just sum a whole human person up by a couple of token pieces of clothes, commonly-used expressions, vaguely ascribed character traits and call off 150 years of painstaking psycho-analysis. That is my hardcore belief that, whatever happens, there is more than meets the eye with every person I’ve met, than any bullshit denominator could say about them. Even when I do judge someone based on the facial hair that dangles off their membrane, there’s always this moment when I stop being a garbage piece of judgmental weirdo once I actually talk to the non-ironical type-writer user, manbun-sporting milk-and-sugar-with-a-dash-of-coffee drinking guy.
By Public Mistake8 years ago in Humans
My First Boyfriend Was a Total Heterophobe
I had the awkward pleasure of coming out of the closet as a gay man when I was 20 years old. Coming out was a terrifying experience for me, but I was two years into my undergraduate studies in music, and it didn't really surprise anyone that I was a man-on-man kinda bro. Plus, considering that most of the people I ran with were young arts majors, I didn't really deal with that much discrimination, so the process went fairly well.
By Sterling Bluford8 years ago in Humans
The New Norm
When I was a kid, I thought your college/early 20’s years were supposed to a time to find yourself and to have fun. This was the norm 10 to 20 years ago. The new norm is finding someone who tolerates you enough to be with you 24/7, settles with you, and might even have a “mini-you” with. Now when I am at my early 20’s phase of my life, I am a single career black woman who is trying to enjoy these years. She’s also trying to have it all and understanding the meaning of multiple important want/needs.
By Phiona Marks8 years ago in Humans
I Just Needed You to Listen
Together for a year and a half, this would make it my longest relationship. I made myself so vulnerable to you and you did the same. I shared with you my deepest and darkest fears. I told you things that no one else knew about me. You cried to me over the phone and I listened faithfully. I truly felt as if we were meant to be.
By Shawty Dark8 years ago in Humans
