Top Stories

Stories in Humans that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.

A Hate Letter to Personal Statements
I find myself once again writing personal statements for grad school applications. Why I would do such a thing to myself again after so many years of not doing that, I have no clue. Perhaps I have a sadistic streak, an echo of my Catholic upbringing which manifests the typical emotional self-flagellation into a desire to apply to and inevitably get rejected from grad school. I could put applications in all day, don’t get me wrong. I love going over checklists and reaching out to old professors asking them sweetly if they would be so kind as to say nice things about me on the official record for Miscellaneous University and their Obscure College of the Performing Arts. But good God, dude, why do I have to write a damn personal statement for each and every one of these programs?
By Steven Christopher McKnight3 months ago in Humans
Médea's Recipes for Life. Winner in Maps of the Self Challenge.
The book was waiting where I left it when I came home from the funeral: on my kitchen table, wrapped in brown paper and tied with a red velvet ribbon. My grandmother never wrapped gifts like that. She preferred wax paper and flax string, that could be repurposed later like leftover stew.
By Imola Tóth3 months ago in Humans
Cartographic Explorations of a life.
To follow the map that has led me to this current time and place in life, it is essential to consider some of the foundations that were set to fortify a mindset.
By Katherine D. Graham3 months ago in Humans
Old Things
(Maiden) Matt calls me outside, eager to show me the detail of dying leaves he’s found in the yard. He did this last fall, too. I find it sweet, the fascination he finds in such ordinary acts of nature. He keeps me from slipping into too jaded territory. Autumn is pretty enough, but it means the days of swimming in lakes and rivers are paused, and it means soon my bones will ache with cold. For me, October means bracing myself for winter— and often forgetting to appreciate the current season.
By BK3 months ago in Humans
I'm Different
Hey everyone! I'm Amanda. I've been writing here for a few years now and boy have I bared my naked soul to yall. I've written about heartbreaks, music, lessons. You name it. But now I'd like to tell you how much i've changed over the last 5 years.
By Amanda Nicole3 months ago in Humans
If You Already Know
I doubt you’ll ever read this. On the small twinge of a chance that you do, I doubt you’ll even figure out it’s related to you, let alone who’s who. However, I still wish to get my thoughts out a bit.
By Snarky Lisa3 months ago in Humans
Why Drink Shitty Wine?. Content Warning.
Why Do We Drink Shitty Wine? Let me set the scene: It’s Friday night. My Teddy Swims playlist is hitting all the right notes. (Despite me giving it my best effort, I am not hitting all the right notes with him), I am writing this while having a glass of wine. And there is no way around it-the wine sucks. I mean really shitty wine. (Truth be told, I am two glasses in-I’ll get to that in a minute.)
By J. Delaney-Howe3 months ago in Humans
Orange
I've always thought about maps in terms of their colours. The relationship I have with my best friend is orange. Orange, to me, is a mix of colours. We all know the yellow and the red. But the orange that I think of when I think of my best friend is peachy. Maybe a yellow and pink, rather than a yellow and red mix?
By Jaimie3 months ago in Humans
Not Quite How Dad Planned It
MAPS I HOLD ON TO *** I think I would like to start over, I believe that I made some wrong turns. Stuck in these messed up adventures of my life, seems to tell me I still got so much to learn. Things you're certain that you'd never forget, begin to fade like an old pair of jeans. I guess I neglected to remember to care for the map that you instilled in me.
By Kelli Sheckler-Amsden3 months ago in Humans
Trigger Warning. Content Warning.
I want some of my words back. I love some words, I love saying them, but… I do not love the legacy of pain and suffering that come with them.
By Meredith Harmon3 months ago in Humans
Sharing The Spotlight
Welcome to part two of my series, "Sharing the Spotlight"! If you're new here, I decided to write this series to give other writers a little bit more of a spotlight (not that mine is very big in the first place, but that doesn't matter.)
By Sara Wilson3 months ago in Humans
Doubting Democrats
In the former United States of America people were taught since childhood that 'Democracy was the most enlightened ideal and highest aspiration of all humanity, for all time.'
By We the PPUL3 months ago in Humans