Relationships
-
Talking to an AI
When I was told I’d be interviewed by an AI, I had the assumption that the experience would feel detached. Because how can I relate to someone without a face? I relied so much on verbal AND non-verbal cues during interviews that I needed to see the facial expressions and movements of my interviewer to… Read more
-
The liberation I felt after reducing my Facebook use
After spending hours reading long reads, I suddenly had a burst of desire to create something tangible that others could interact with, such as this blog post. I was feeling the excitement to type and get something published, feeling the overflow of thoughts and ideas that I could no longer contain inside my head. I… Read more
-
The things we hide
So we hide away the unpleasant, like crumbs under the bed, thinking that putting away the hurt makes the hurt go away. But they never go away. They would only chew bit by bit the sanity we try to hold. Until we break. Read more
-
Still left me empty
Want to know the perfect metaphor for modern self-help? It’s a billion-dollar industry teaching us how to love ourselves while making it impossible to love each other. It’s a massive machine that runs on loneliness, powered by isolation, fueled by disconnection. It’s the ultimate expression of late-stage capitalism: the commodification of human completion. The Great… Read more
-
Poking a wasp nest
When I was young, I learned that poking a wasp nest stirs the wasps, and the next thing you do is run away as fast as you can because the wasps will hunt you down. The lesson I learned was that wasps are not aggressive until you disturb their peace. And who doesn’t like peace,… Read more
-
The gradual normalization of wrongdoing
If only right and wrong, good and evil, were color-coded, we could see clearly which way to go and what not to do if we desire doing good. But wrong and evil often seem good (at first) until you are hooked and trapped. Then, you are either already knee-deep in them before you realize you’re… Read more
-
Online aggression
I find more people angry online than in person and I don’t know why. Because it’s election season in the Philippines, the occasional angry mob has become a 24-hour online presence and it has been challenging to drown out all the noise and think clearly about the values and principles our parents and well-meaning teachers… Read more
jessa 