Taya Brown
@mostlytaya
Taya Brown
We see ourselves as others see us, and when we feel invisible, well, we have a tendency to fall to pieces.
David Brooks • How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen
“To be human is to be an animal that needs witnesses. Someone has to see you eating cereal. Someone has to be there when you tell a bad joke. Otherwise you start twitching in public, you start growling in the supermarket. You start developing hobbies. This is the horror we call solitude.” - The Shadowed Archive
I believe I am a solitary creature. I prefer to keep my own company, not because I am an especially fun or lively companion, but because I don’t feel the need to be witty or poised when I’m alone. We are mirrors of the people we surround ourselves with, so who are we when we’re by ourselves?
A mirror can only reflect what is already there; it cannot create new images. Time spent alone allows you to look inward, to see who you are at your core, who you are without the pressure to impress anyone. You might notice freckles you’d never paid attention to before, or the blemish that has permanently taken residence on your nose.
But we still need outside influence to change our reflection. You might pick up new vocabulary from someone speaking a few aisles over at the library, or develop an interest sparked by a friend who binge-watches Netflix until sunrise. Alone, we exist in a self-discovery vacuum. Together, we become collages of borrowed personalities and shared interests, forming a new mosaic, a new reflection to ponder.
"I was waiting for something extraordinary to happen, but as the years wasted on, nothing ever did unless I caused it.”
—Charles Bukowski