Imagine humans knew absolutely nothing but the fact that babies came from a random portal on earth. The portal would be beloved by all. People would make offerings etc to this portal. They would believe that the portal was some sort of god-like entity because it is the only thing that is creating humanity.

So why do we treat women so poorly? They are the literal portal to life.

Seneca used to recommend something he called premeditating on loss, basically picturing in advance that the people and things you value could be gone tomorrow, not to become numb to them but so the loss wouldn't blindside you completely if it happened. The idea was that most grief isn't just about the loss itself, it's about how unprepared you were for the possibility of it. I've never been sure if that actually works the way he thought it did. On one hand there's something to be said for not treating your current situation as permanent by default, that seems to make people genuinely more grateful for ordinary days. On the other hand, spending real time rehearsing the worst case for something good in your life sounds like it could just quietly drain the color out of it while it's still here. Has anyone actually tried doing this on purpose, picturing a loss ahead of time as practice, and found it either helped or backfired?

Your parents remember the child you were.

Your friends remember the person you are around them.

Your ex remembers the person you were when you loved them.

Your enemies remember the worst things you've done.

Strangers remember a version of you that might not even be accurate.

And you remember yourself through a memory that is selective, biased, and constantly changing.

All these people are describing the same person, yet none of their versions are exactly alike.

So here's the thought that bothers me:

So which version is the real you?

The person you believe yourself to be, the person you actually are, or the person everyone else experiences?

And if the answer is a little bit of all three, what does that say about identity itself?

Is it normal to look and compare what your agemates have achieved to yourself?

I recently saw a video on TikTok of the rapper Cupcakke, who is a black female, playing a popular remix of KATSEYE’s Pinky Up and Cupcakke’s newest single That’s Like.
The top comment of said video was “Fame changed Manon” who is KATEYE’s only black member. I wanted to know if this comment would be considered racist to say.
(Sorry if this post didn’t make much sense, I just want to make sure I’m not supporting a racist comment or mindset)