From the Beginning of Time

Stories and folk tales have been around for a long time, and I mean a long time. The tradition of telling fire-side stories has been embedded into our DNA for generations! Soon, we started to find new ways of expressing ourselves: cinema, writing, songs, etc. These things seem common and normal now. But how did we go from being barely able to communicate to... this? 

Hi! It’s Saturday noon; which means a new blog post! Since school started, I’ve been invested in not failing my classes (yes, it’s taking some effort). I’m taking multiple writing classes a day, so all I do is read a bunch of articles and write about them (it’s as tedious as it sounds). But what I read this week was... intriguing. Have you ever gotten the feeling that you know a fact to be true, but you’ve never actually thought about it, and when you do, it seems like it’s too good to be true? Well, if you haven’t, I’m about to introduce you to that feeling right now. 

Recently, I’ve been reading a book called “How Art Made the World” by Nigel Spivey. I’m not really into nonfiction (mostly because it makes my head hurt), but this one is different. One of the topics that came up was about the evolution of storytelling. As I mentioned before, storytelling is in our blood. You may not be a writer or a reader, but you can tell a story and at some point, you have. But how did we even manage to write not a sentence, but entire articles? 

It took a while for us to develop a written language, and when we did, it was mostly just pictures or symbols. Before, stories and fables used to spread from one mind to another by memory. People used to memorize poems and verses in prose verbatim! Yes, it’s hard for many of us to do that today. Just imagine what it would be like if we memorized every book, article even TikTok, just to share it with others (gosh, that would be a nightmare).  

But that’s what it took for us to get here. If we didn’t overcome that stage, I wouldn’t be writing, and you wouldn’t be reading. Being such a small, common thing, it sure does have an impact on our lives. The system that was once used to record the epic tales of rulers, tyrants, and supernatural beings, is now being used to share the stories of ordinary people.  

It’s chilling to think about, right? Our whole existence is based on simple symbols that hold every secret, confession, and emotion ever experienced. It’s something so simple, but so immense.  

I guess what really hits home is how lightly we take this concept. The words we use and say to others tell a lot about our own stories and lives. If I make a post on social media about cleaning the ocean, it gives people a representation of my identity and personality. Now, people use this privilege to do more harm than good, and instead of stopping the quarrel, others join in by picking sides. 

Do you feel it, yet? Do you feel your mind racing, trying to fill in the gaps? And.... this is where the million-dollar question comes in: what is the meaning of life? No, we aren’t going to tackle that today. Maybe one day though!  

The point is that what you say matters more than you think. No, I’m not adding this just to make a valid ending (that might be a part of the reason, though). But truly, you are setting up a path for yourself, and right now a lot of people are walking on a fine line between prosperity and hardship. Do your best to show your real identity and personality through your words, and who knows? Maybe you’ll be the first person to find the meaning of life!  

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If you do, email me... 

What Do You Think? 

If your brain isn’t racing yet, answer these riddles. I guarantee not just a brainstorm, but a full-blown brain-nami!  

• If life is so short, why do we do things that we don’t like but like things that we don’t do? 

• If you had fun while you were wasting your time, can you still say that you wasted your time? 

• Where does a thought go when it’s forgotten? 

• Why is Goofy considered a human and Pluto considered a pet when they are both dogs?