![]() ![]() The act of planning ahead and possessing some ability to predict the future is also attributed to homo sapiens. ![]() ![]() A convenient alternative to getting to know someone over years of awkward hellos and small talk, offering me the chance to look at myself from an objective point of view: what’s kept me from experiencing belonging? Am I a social chameleon? The more I toyed with the piece, the more its weight became familiar in my hands, seeing parts of it I was certain were only home to myself. It was a new experience, getting to touch the museum piece I’d been lingering around for some time. It was a made-up word, more niche than age-related slang and more unofficial than ever. “Lachesism,” the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows calls it, referring to the desire to be struck by life-changing disaster. Usually we’re aware of our part, our lines in the play, but it was seldom the case that another person would agree with the appeal of wanting to experience chaos as a means of self-actualization. It was without a doubt strange to be discussing our preferred means of tragedy – perhaps even immature – but it was stranger to have someone to engage in that conversation with at all. The app, the world, and my experience with it remained unremarkably predictable for some time – before I was reached out to by this acquaintance via direct messaging. When I eventually did cave and join the Easter egg world, I did so to be updated on local poetry events around the city. I admired these words for the comfort they gave me, every visit to the Dictionary feeling like a visit to a secret garden. John Koenig’s online blog the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is famous in the world of etymology for lovingly spinning these universal feelings into ‘tangible’ words for the mind. Exploring discussion boards and blogs rather than Snapchat and Facebook, where content could be delivered and consumed indirectly. I stuck to thinking about my thoughts rather than acting on them. Secretly, I felt inadequate for its norms. For years I looked down upon social media, Instagram in particular, for turning unremarkable practicalities into pastel, picture-perfect pieces of art like Easter eggs sitting in a recycled twelve-dozen cardboard box. ![]()
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