ENGL Hypertext Project

Income <img src="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/201875293@N07/54180173110/in/dateposted-public/"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54180173110_97072c7377_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="IMG_7841"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>"> (enchant:?page,(bg:#343a40)) Work work work Is that all humans were made for? Sometimes I sit and hear the wild call Maybe it’s silly, but true. I hear it through the djin of todays age, the roars of engines, the shrill of machinery, the hum of electricity. I want to wander meadows and scavenge, Explore the wilds of this world And all its beauty But we live in cities, that serve the man, Stone and metal empires that span the Earth, With the people in control so tirelessly out of reach. A system, Established long before I was born, and before any of us really had a say, And these men said “work, And so we did, and we have, And what a miserable existence, right? And yet, For every drop of my blood that calls for the wild, There is a sister drop that enjoys the work. The knowledge and skills I’ve gained, But also the people I’ve met. Many are not lasting, They come and go with the ebbs and flows of life, But the connection that once was is no less valuable. And with each fleeting connection, I feel I’ve gained something, However small, It feels like an expansion of myself, my soul, I give up a little of myself for a little of them, A Trade, And become something slightly changed and different each time, Something better.

Connection (align:"=><=")+(box:"=XXX=")[= One word, yet more meaning and depth Than even the ocean, As vast and unexplored What is “connection”? Is it a shared interest? Is it a forced scheduled interaction on the basis of earning an unlivable [[income->Income]]? Is it [[friendship->Friendship]]? Is it [[family->Family]]? Is it [[love->Love]]? What is Love? Where is it? And what about me? Does connecting with myself not matter? How do I do it? Who am I? What do I like? What is a sense of [[self->Self]]? Connection, Is an interesting thing to try to discuss. My mind goes to so many places. I think of all people I am close with, All the people I wish I was closer with, All the people that have touched my soul deeper than they could ever know, That I’ll never see again. All the people, Who have hurt me, Who I haven’t forgiven, And the ones who I have. I think of my pets, My friends, Enemies, My sister, My mom, My Dad, Me. Beyond. I think of everywhere else too, The places I’ve never been, And only seen in news stories and dull images in my mind. I think of the pain, The terror, Such that I will never know. I think of the beauty, I will never see, Will only dream of seeing. And I consider, I ponder, How we are all here on Earth, here at this exact moment in time, in history. And I wonder what the odds are of that. (enchant:?page,(bg:#74c0fc))

(align:"=><=")+(box:"=XXX=")[= Connection By Livia Fryer A exploration of what [[connection->Connection]] means to me, through poetry. (enchant:?page,(text-colour:#212529)+(bg:#faa2c1))

Friendship <img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54180173150_f5a7a748e0_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="IMG_7830"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> (enchant:?page,(bg:#e8590c)) =><= Someone to jump your 2005 sedan in 25 degree weather, when the batter inevitably dies. Someone to come with you to the gas station for a little bit of everything, besides the fuel. Someone to accompany you to the car wash, to help dig up quarters from the crevices of your car, and to vaccum up the dirt. Someone to come with you to sit in the sand on a warm summer day. Someone to accompany you through the Dunkin' drive through. Someone to talk you through a stressful week. Someone to pay for your dinner when you're down on your luck, knowing you'll get them back. Someone whose sholder you can cry on, and not feel weird about it. Someone to help you pick out an outfit. Someone to help you decide what message to send. Someone to come along for the errands, not because they had anything to do, but just because. Someone who will try new things with you. Someone to tell you when you're really wrong, and steer you right.

Family <img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54180027244_c57f824184_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="IMG_7591 (1)"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> (enchant:?page,(bg:#087f5b)) I have known them my whole life, and I may not even know everything about them. The proverbial “hand I have been dealt”. But there is little regret in that reality. Family. It can also be more than just the pack of cards we started life with. Possibility, customization... Family can grow without marrying someone, or having children. Who is there for you at your darkest moments? Who wants to know about your day even if they know nothing exciting happened? Who is there when a pointless adventure calls? Flesh and blood, but so much more. Family is not something so fickle, to be limited to a few people. Who is it amongst those you know that you would want to eat at your dinner table, If choice was no option? Perhaps that is your family.

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#212529))Love <img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54179731731_ab1ffda6da_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="IMG_7772"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> (enchant:?page,(bg:#ffd43b)) Love takes on many forms, the warm, pure sort you feel for friends, or the cool and swirly sort you feel for siblings, or the unique and indescribable sort you feel for a partner. In whatever form I have met Love, it has been interesting to meet each version of her. She is a good friend, but she has her moments. Like that one crazy friend, who everyone loves, but you can only handle in small doses. But I guess at the end of the day, we all have our moments. Where we say things we don't mean, and lash out, and make silly choices. But we usually give ourselves A second chance. So maybe we should give Love the benefit of the doubt, and give her a second chance. Because Love will change, and it will be swell to meet each version of her, however sweet or bitter.

Self <img src=<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/201875293@N07" title=""><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54180004053_c3d2efedc5_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt=""/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> (enchant:?page,(bg:#ffc078)) Finding a sense of self, has always felt like a journey with no apparent end in sight, no peak of the mountain to summit. At some point in life, that fact may have unsettled me. For I have always wanted to feel complete, to feel as though the “leveling up” was done. But now I know, or believe, that no such thing is truly possible. We, as humans, never truly stop changing, and never truly stop learning, and it is because of this that we are all connected. Change aches, often for all sorts of reasons. Whether it be losing someone you love, or struggling to learn new skills and succeed, we all face the same peaks to summit. And the person who is continuously left on the otherside of that change? That is you, or me, should I say. Perhaps we should celebrate ourselves a little more, and realize how truly strong we all are. We are all humans, all brothers and sisters of the same flesh. Sometimes I consider how, I have been here with //me// the whole time. And in that way, I should have proven my value to myself. I'd like think to I am smart, hardworking, thoughtful, funny, kind. But even if I am not, every day is an opportunity to be more so. We all live in the present, and in that way, We all grow together.