Just Some Things That Make You Human

How your mind can paint a picture of a world that only exists in a fantasy book. Your beating heart. Saying the wrong thing. Missing the bus. Missing the point. Missing the person who broke you. Tired bones. Heavy eyes. Getting fired. Standing back up. Fidgeting. Stuttering during a meeting with your boss. Wishing you were someone else. Contemplating everything you would have had to miss if you actually were someone else. Realizing you actually don’t want to be anyone else but you. Forgetting the same thing over and over. Relearning the hard lessons. Gratitude. Crying over a math test. Being overwhelmed by outer space and the ocean and what happens when we pass away. Getting your heart broken. Breaking someone else’s heart. Believing it’s been the end when it was simply a closed door. Self-pity. Listlessness. Jealousy. Inappropriate laughter in the funeral home. Goosebumps. Regret. Realizing what Bon Iver meant when he sang, “At once I knew I was not magnificent.” Struggling to say no. Struggling to say yes. Tripping in the parking lot. Cold feet. Daydreaming at work. Getting turned down. Getting turned on. Crying when your favorite character dies in a movie. Anger. Stretch marks. Curiosity. Wanting too much. Not wanting enough. Unrealistic expectations. Accidentally saying “shit” in front of kids at the grocery store. Getting ignored in the group chat. Doing your best and still not getting the results you hoped for. Figuring it out despite that fact. Your heart’s ability to always have more room: For love. For loss. For dogs. For hope. For fear. For living.


About the author

Molly Burford

Writer. Editor. Hufflepuff. Dog person.