This article is inspired by an experience I had just moments ago. I turned to the boy beside me on the library computer and asked, in the most friendly way possible, “What should I write my blog about?” Silence. He didn’t even look me in the eyes. It was as if I hadn’t even said it at all. Which led me to wonder if I actually existed, which led me to ponder human interaction.

Humans. A curious species. Highly complex in nature, highly evolved in thought and structure, and highly influenced by rap music. We’re all different besides the one thing we have in common: we all interact with each other and inanimate objects on a daily basis.

But then again, how do we really know if we’re interacting with anything at all? Maybe right now, as I type this article (I use the term loosely), I am just merely pressing my fingers down on imaginary buttons. Humans seem to be reared in a way that enables them to learn all senses except feeling. One can never truly know how another person feels. Your friend may approach you after you shave her cat and say, “Listen, friend, how ever funny Nubbins looks without hair, it doesn’t change the fact that your prank made me feel sad and betrayed.” They may indeed feel sad and betrayed, but you will never know. Perhaps they are feeling frustrated because they didn’t take a razor to big Nubbins before you did.

All of the 5 senses, however, seem to be more absolute and universally agreeable than emotions. Touch. We are taught that an apple is “smooth” and cement is “rough.” There is little room to fight the age old adjectives describing the feeling of different materials. Sight. Red means stop, green means go, yellow means slow down (or speed up if you don’t want to wait for days). When it comes to colors and the adjectives describing them, everyone seems to agree what they are and what they mean. I could continue on with how smell, taste, and sound are pretty much ingrained in us from the day we are born and rarely challenged, but I don’t want to sound redundant. Because nobody likes a repeater.

All of the 5 senses, however, seem to be more absolute and universally agreeable than emotions. Touch. We are taught that an apple is “smooth” and cement is “rough.” There is little room to fight the age old adjectives describing the feeling of different materials. Sight. Red means stop, green means go, yellow means slow down (or speed up if you don’t want to wait for days). When it comes to colors and the adjectives describing them, everyone seems to agree what they are and what they mean. I could continue on with how smell, taste, and sound are pretty much ingrained in us from the day we are born and rarely challenged, but I don’t want to sound redundant. Because nobody likes a repeater.

So basically, what I am getting at is that the only interaction I trust is between me and my self. Not myself, my SELF. Materialism to me is just an illusion to make us feel less alone.