humanity
For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.
The Disposables
A lot of people believe everyone is meant for someone. I've always wondered if this statement is true. They say we all have a soulmate, someone we're meant to spend eternity with but I don't think that's quite true. I think some people are just meant to be alone in life and in death. They're there to show you what not to do, how not to act and how not to treat people. They're there to show us what bad is so you know when you have something good and something real. If we didn't have bad people we would never know what good truly is. I think all the bad people in this world are here for that reason only, to just be bad but never meant to be with anyone.
By LeAnn Murch5 years ago in Humans
An Essay Collection: 6 Things I Panicked About In My Twenties
When I was fifteen years old, I had these hypothetical predictions of what I wanted in my twenties. I expected to have a boyfriend at twenty years old, I expected I would have lost thirty pounds at twenty years old. I expected to be employed as a cosmetologist at twenty-one years old.
By Samantha Parrish5 years ago in Humans
THE BULLY
I think that the saddest aspect of the Bully is that they a developmentally delayed in human growth. They have been frozen in time in aspects of their character and they can be triggered to regress with just the right word or action. The thing is that which triggers a Bully is simply an illusion embedded in the past that they allow to the surface. I am, perhaps, a Bully when I am bullied. Having never owning that character out right, I have adopted the characteristics of a bully by mimicking their own action.
By Andrea Sturm5 years ago in Humans
This Is Why You Need Real Black Friends
There have been a lot of buzzwords flying around lately in light of the social justice issues happening in the world. One of them that has particularly gotten on my nerves is the term "ally." Originally, this was meant to be a term geared primarily towards white people but also includes any non-Black person of colour when used in reference to the Black community. Ally is also a term I learned in my Gay/Straight Alliance group in high school. There, it meant a straight person who was a real supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community. Allyship has been viewed by some as being on the "right" side of history and a progressive/liberal ideology. But there is a real fundamental difference between an "ally" and an "accomplice."
By Whitney Smart5 years ago in Humans
The stories etched on my skin
Growing up, I had always liked the idea of tattoos. I remember asking my dad every now and then about his, about what they meant or if it had hurt when he received them. One thing he always impressed on my sister and I was that if we chose to get any ink of our own that it should mean something important to us. Precious even. Even now as a grown woman it is something I consider whenever I think of getting a new piece of art for my skin. I have three tattoos total, but if I have my way, one day I might be covered because I enjoy the process of it and sharing the importance of them with others.
By Mollie Ollie5 years ago in Humans
Dear Trans Women: Not All Cisgender Women Are Transphobic Assholes.
I am unequivocally a supporter and accomplice to the LGBTQIA+ community. Anyone who knows me knows I've been actively pushing for LGBTQ + rights since high school, when I was able to move independently from my parents. In high school, I was a part of the gay/straight alliance we had. There were events at our school where gay and lesbian educators came in to educate those of us who identified as straight on a number of things, and also to educate LGBTQIA+ students on the different subcommunities and how they each experience different challenges. As straight-identifying students, we learned how to ensure we were aware of our words and the effects they had on others, when slurs such as "gay" and "fag" are thrown around as high schoolers are want to do. We had sleepovers and other community building events. I was once selected by a teacher of mine as a representative of my school to go to an all day conference that was for students who had shown leadership qualities, particularly around inclusivity. I got to sit in groups with young LGBTQ+ students from across different schools on Long Island and talk about some of the challenges they face and how as straight students we can help create safe and inclusive spaces for them. From educators to both gay and straight students, we were an allied community. We had one purpose and one goal of helping to make the world inclusive for everyone, no matter how you identified. The LGBTQIA+ members who attended knew that anyone that was there was not just an ally but an actual accomplice; someone who was willing to get in the trenches with our gay and lesbian family and fight the good fight. I mention my backstory not in any way to brag or be and sound condescending. I simply bring up the receipts to show this work is not new to me. I've been fighting for gay rights before it was the "in" thing to do socially. I always felt included by the LGBTQ+ community and that I was a part of the solution and not the problem.
By Whitney Smart5 years ago in Humans
The Root of My Heart
The things we value most in life stem from a place of happiness, a past time that was so wonderful we hold onto with a smell or a specific color or a song that'll help us to remember those happy moments. We carry on family traditions because in those moments we were at our happiest. Those treasured moments that are rooted deep in your soul, they're weighted in your heart and will forever be there like a stuck anchor on a ship.
By LeAnn Murch5 years ago in Humans
Lonely Heartache
If you've read my prior work than you know I'm anti-love, anti-relationships, anti-kids, anti-everything basically. I have a tendency to push everyone and everything away. I don't want people to be emotionally involved so I like keeping them at bay but it's starting to take a toll on me.
By LeAnn Murch5 years ago in Humans
The post covid normal will be like this!
I have favorite people. They spice up my life. And two of them are established in 1970, yes that is 50 years ago. So they pass a big milestone earthday in the most surreal of all years since. So enough reason to celebrate but no way to actually plan the celebrations that fit the occasion. As with most get-togethers, it is simply not happening any time soon.
By Loukalicious5 years ago in Humans
Bioshulambua
Most people get tattoos because they mean something. I, myself, am covered. My sleeve is only hours away from being finished, but I am seasoned with a variety of artists work. I have my children’s names. I have a couple matching tattoos from past relationships, and no real ink addict would be complete without a few regrettable impulse pieces as well.
By Dee Axilla5 years ago in Humans
