The Meaning Question

Questions about meaning have been on my mind lately. What makes people happy? What do people want most out of life? Are they finding it? Why not?

I decided to talk to people about it, to satisfy my curiosity and to find a source of inspiration. I had no plan for the project: rather, I hoped the story would craft itself based on what people said.

A Collage of Fingerprints

“I fall in love just a little ol’ little bit every day with someone new.”~ Hozier

I don’t remember when I met N, but I remember when I fell for him. It was late in the evening in the college library, and we were whispering about the sort of things you only ever whisper about. There was an unspoken pull between us but both of us enjoyed the challenge of restraint – for a while, at least. One day, I toppled, and he steadied me without asking questions. The silent agreement, in that moment, was shattered and we began to seek familiarity in each other’s skin with the intensity of two people drifting through strange environments. The conversations yawned at 3am became lifelines that pulled us through each day.

Collision

in environments with high levels of energy, particles become excited and collide with each other

I said hi it’s nice to meet
you; he said tell me your story and I’ll tell you mine
I said I appreciate the little
things; he said sometimes it hurts to love so much

The Lonely City

During the day, New York is a hub of aspirations and purpose and buzzing personality. There is an excitement that accompanies the freedom of having so many possibilities, and on every street corner – whether in the ripped jeans or immaculate hair in the crowd waiting to cross the road, or in the carefully planned design of the corner cafe – you find self-expression.