Stream of Consciousness
The Cartographer . Honorable Mention in Maps of the Self Challenge.
"Just when I think I have found the way to live, life changes." - Hugh Prather You cannot live more than three decades without some confusion, at least that's what I've come to believe. When I was six a teacher asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and the question has never quite left me. I stood there in the play-doh and glue smelling class room, amongst miniature tables and chairs with grass in my hair and mud on my knees and told her I wanted to be a teacher... not because I had a great desire to be one, but because it seemed the polite thing to say to a teacher. Even then I wanted to please people. Maybe especially then.
By S. A. Crawford2 months ago in Humans
How Injuries Unlock Hidden Languages
Have you ever struggled to learn a new language? Took the classes, practiced the flashcards, maybe even tried one of those apps, and still couldn’t hold a conversation? Well, imagine waking up from a serious accident and finding that you’re suddenly fluent in a language you barely knew! This kind of bizarre story isn't just movie fiction. Over the years, there have been several real-life cases of people suffering severe injuries, falling into a coma, and waking up with completely new language skills. I wanted to share a few of the wildest examples with you.
By Areeba Umair2 months ago in Humans
Changes Over Time
I thought I had my future mapped out from a young age. Well, at least from about seventh or eighth grade. I distinctly remember wanting to be a veterinarian in third or fourth grade until I discovered that meant I’d have to do surgery on animals. I also remember wanting to be Princess Leia when I was about seven.
By Reb Kreyling2 months ago in Humans
Honeysuckle Summer Dream
It was a peculiar summer. Birds migrated upside down, heading north to south, and the air tasted of caramel and chocolate. The sweetness was palpable, dripping from honeysuckle, pollinated by bumblebees, and falling into the river, where a heron strolled, bewildered, in search of a meal. My existence amid the heat felt both trivial and distant. I'd accepted my insignificance, that I was just a tiny drop in the vast machine of the world. Who was I to question any of it? Complaining would probably result in blank stares into nothingness. Any unnecessary burden had to be shed to avoid being weighed down. But now, things felt different.
By Moon Desert2 months ago in Humans
Saturn Return
Dear Superimposed, It would be more fitting to ask me, “When am I, or, where am I?” rather than, “Who am I?” Who will never be specific enough, nor last long enough to be known; for Who does not belong to any one person, place, or time, and neither do I. If you really want to know me, you must first know where I am located and in what position I exist, as well as know your current position in time and space.
By Pōlani Monderen 2 months ago in Humans
The Map of an American Dream Unraveling
We didn’t know we were making a map back then. At least not a traditional map one folds or pins to a wall, Not the kind left sticky in the bottom of a forgotten glove box, replaced by a newer shinier technology capable of getting us from point A to point Z faster and more efficiently.
By Stacey Mataxis Whitlow (SMW)2 months ago in Humans
Thoughts of a College Student
Looking around my surroundings, I often find myself in amazement at life. It’s finally fall, and the temperature is falling, and it’s the perfect time to enjoy a coffee while watching the leaves fall. I’m a current freshman at a southern university, and around this time, I’m reminded of how beautiful the change of the seasons is. The luscious green leaves slowly turn into a crispy golden brown. They crackle under each step, and it brings me a sense of peace. Though how can I feel at peace when there’s so much change around me?
By Chris Cerna2 months ago in Humans
Mapping the Self: A Journey From Collapse to Clarity
By The Secret History of the World There are moments in life when everything collapses at once. You lose direction, you lose structure, you lose the version of yourself you thought you were building. It doesn’t happen suddenly. It happens piece by piece, in the dull silence between one day and the next. You wake up one morning and realize that the world you stood on is gone, and somehow you are expected to keep walking as if the ground hasn’t opened beneath you.
By The Secret History Of The World2 months ago in Humans
