The goal of this 'what does it mean to be a human brand' is to connect. Connect with a stranger through a mutual experience. Or maybe just learn what it's like to live as someone else. It's easy to forget that multiple stories are making up us as people. Whether you meet someone in person once, have known them all your life, or develop a relationship online, they are human at the end of the day. They are more than just one interaction, one moment, or one mistake.
These posts also tie back into the central theme in my novel, The Human Zoo; what does it mean to be human?
I hope as you read these stories, you can connect or at least appreciate the spectrum that is humanity.
As a reminder, these stories are personal and hard to recite. Please be respectful when commenting.
Being Human
Written by Madeline Stecz
Being human is working on breathing exercises and having flashbacks of your sexual assault, and continuing to breathe through it. Being human is working on yourself for years and still looking in the mirror and asking, “Do I love myself?” Being human is discovering how to set boundaries with your parents after years of emotional abuse. And sometimes still not honoring those boundaries for yourself. Being human is waking up every day not knowing if you made the right decisions but carrying on anyway. Being human is feeling terrified to write this and question if you are good at writing at all. Being human is appreciating your life, no matter how complex it may seem to everyone else. Being human is noticing your imperfections and transforming them into something beautiful. Being human is doing something kind for yourself and not feeling guilty about it. Being human is remembering that it is never too late to find yourself, because you will forget her and find her again
Let Madeline know below what you thought of her poem!