humanity

For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.

Gemini
If you are born between May 21st and June 20th, your Astrological Sign is Gemini. As we enter Gemini season, let us explore and celebrate what makes you unique.
By Andree Major5 years ago in Humans
Art and Community Connection
As a child, I was very athletic. I remember myself playing soccer and joining a cheer team in the same season because I loved both, and couldn’t choose between them. On Saturdays, I would be cheering for my small town’s football team, all while keeping an eye on the time. During the last quarter of the football games, I’d have to rush to change into my soccer uniform, and my parents would take me directly to my soccer matches. I loved soccer. Maybe just a bit more than cheer. Everyone around me; my family, coaches, and people I didn’t even know, said they thought I would become a professional soccer player one day. That’s what I wanted. I wanted to continue to play soccer, become a professional, and play until I couldn’t anymore.
By Eli5 years ago in Humans
Knitting Pretty
Christmas Eve was usually reserved for family but this year Elenor and Fletcher were joining us. Elenor was a chipper woman with short salt and pepper hair and a ringing laugh. She was my teacher for piano, pipe organ, knitting, and weaving. Her husband Fletcher was sweet, soft spoken, and also a musician. He could play any kind of horn you could think of including a sackbut. Needless to say they were good friends and delightful company. When it came to opening presents, Elenor handed me a small box wrapped in bright red paper with a green bow on top. I carefully unwrapped it to find a pair of small, bright scissors in the form of a crane. The two finger holes sat in place of the legs while the golden body of the crane formed the main shaft of the scissors. A long delicate silver beak served as the sharp blades of the implement.
By Sadette Harmon5 years ago in Humans
Dumb Ego and Its Many Fallouts
I was new in town, so, when he slowed down his bike, smiled, and said “hello”, I was happy. In the beginning, we only ever ran into one another in the streets around our neighborhood (turned out, we lived only a few houses apart). I loved to walk around, and Ben* was often on his bike or on foot, doing the same.
By Emari5 years ago in Humans
Patchwork commuters
Of course the norm on the London Underground is to stoically pretend that you are not there. And nor is anybody else. Stare straight ahead (or at your phone) and maintain a mental bubble around you that denies the obvious and unsavoury fact of being jammed in a metal tube with a bunch of complete strangers. Cope with that crush of humanity by blocking it out.
By Catherine shovlin5 years ago in Humans
To Hell with Society, just be your Authentic Self.
'You're too childish, You need to grow up, You're too soft, You're lazy, Your not clean enough, You're too sensitive.' These are words I have put up with most of my life. It's actually soul-destroying that people in society think that it's okay to change people into something they are not. Trying to keep up with this change during my childhood and early adulthood put me in a state of depression and various other mental health problems. Even when I became a parent, I was picked on for not being spotless or for my behaviour, but nobody considered how other people were behaving towards me. No! They were too focused on my ability to cry or get a little angry and then turning the blame on me for speaking out about the trauma I was going through. They seemed to think that my 'sensitivity and over-friendliness' caused the problem. Well I have something to say to that, being sensitive or over-friendly is NOT an excuse to be abused, nor was this an excuse to assume that I was the problem for speaking out, crying or showing my angry feelings over it. However, me speaking out after so many years of silence should have been a reason to have been 'seen and heard.' I have spent so much time having to overcome the hurt feelings, the pain and get to grips with the losses that was the price I paid for not only going through something that I could have been helped through but having being forced into silence over for many years. Well, that's not me anymore, I still stand by my truth today, because not standing by my truth means lying to myself, and after doing much work on myself I know I and my family are worth more than my abusers.
By Carol Ann Townend5 years ago in Humans
A Pistol, Shotgun, and Tacos
Gun Number One Two in the morning. Who comes home at two in the morning? Well, me after working an eight-hour janitor job and driving all over Contra Costa county. Our condos where technically a gated community, but the gate was low and bordered a public park on the north end. The freeway sat on the hindquarters to the east, so a tangle of ivy, sparse evergreens, and weeds grew in the back to reduce the noise. This set up created plenty of late-night shadows around the buildings and cars, plenty of hidden entrance and exit points, and just enough middle-class income to entice the thieves.
By Steve B Howard5 years ago in Humans
The Incontrovertible Relationship Between Reading and Writing
We write because we have a story to tell. We read a story told by someone else. In this relentless loop, every writer is a reader by nature. I doubt there’s a single writer out there whose journey hadn’t started as a reader first.
By Emari5 years ago in Humans
Only Accountants Can Save The World
Everyone should be encouraged to follow their passions and be supported in them. When you do this, I believe it makes your life much richer and those around you as well. It makes for a happier life because you feel more fulfilled and receive enjoyment from what you are doing. If you're more involved, you always grow and learn from what you're doing regardless of your path.
By Yvette McDermott5 years ago in Humans
The Potential Pangs of Being the "Good Guy"
Hot on the heels of "The Perks of Being a Gentleman" (and, a bit, "Could It Have Been Because of Me?") comes "The Potential Pangs of Being a Good Guy (and Why We're Still Needed)."
By Kent Brindley5 years ago in Humans
A Cup of Joe
“I’m telling you, you’re seeing things. There’s nothing there. Just let it go already,” Terry says to me as she turns her attention back to her phone.
By Shawn Ingram5 years ago in Humans
The Age Of Heroes Never Dies
The age of heroes is something that I heard in the Justice League movie. They claimed it had long since died. Only in the movies did the age of heroes die. In the real world, the age of heroes is something that lives on every day in our world. There are so many heroes in the world that if we could for a while focus on them instead of the mistakes, the intentional evils, the problems of the world, maybe it would uplift people.
By Jason Ray Morton 5 years ago in Humans