Never am I comfortable enough to express my raw opinions or let my icy guard down, yet here I am, about to rip on humanity. Every day, my mind is consumed with never ending ideas and a whirlwind of thoughts; to repress this vortex, I usually drown it out by eating corn dogs and emotionally investing myself in Animal Planet. As much as I try not to think, I always end up at the topic of people; either I think about how terribly shy I am, or the emotional part of myself (which I try so hard to keep reigned in) becomes concerned with the direction we, as a species, are heading.    

Everyone and everything is made of stardust. We are infinitely connected to one another for eternity, whether we like it or not. Yes, we are connected to trashbags, and yes, we are connected to our current president, beautiful isn’t it? We, as a species have this invisible link that ties us together, a link that makes us a unified one. But every day, I am shown how corrupt and dysfunctional we all have become.

Tragedies seem to strike us every day: racism, shootings, murders, hatred, war, gossip about what Jessica was wearing in 1st period today. We constantly backstab each other and allow ourselves to be consumed with how much we hate something or someone.

I wish, I pray, I hope that one day we can come together and be better than profit, hate, and war. Why spend so much time planning some brilliant scheme to make money? Or how you will get back at that one-waste-of-oxygen that talked about you behind your back when you can do so much more? We can climb Mt. Everest, kayak down the Amazon, and explore the Last Frontier, yet all we seem to do is complain and hate.

My last commentary was about net neutrality, as I wrote that commentary I shifted my focus onto human nature and how we seem to be sliding downhill. I thought about how cruel people are and spent hours contemplating things I was uncomfortable with such as my own greed and selfishness and all the flaws I have tried to erase over the years.

Last year (my sophomore year) was a living hell. Every day, I came to school miserable and on the verge of bursting into tears, and all because of one person. This person destroyed me, they made me feel worthless and villainous. Every day, they pointed out my flaws and said awful things like, “Lexi, you’re a b….!” or, “Why are you so fat?” or, “Kill yourself!” even though I told them I was struggling with suicidal thoughts and asked them to help me. I don’t think they ever stopped to think about what they were doing to me or why I was so angry and sad. Every. Day.

Even though I am away from them now and finally a safe distance from their abuse, I just can’t stop thinking about how often I hear these same things in the halls of our schools, in our workplaces, and in even in our own homes. Why do we insult each other at any chance we can? Why do we call each other names that are so degrading and wounding? Sometimes, I truly believe we are losing our humanity.

These next two questions will most likely be uncomfortable to think about and answer, but I will ask them anyway. Do you really care about the majority of your friends; when they come to you and spill all their problems and talk about their day, do you take in every word they say or just stare at your phone and pretend to listen? Do you believe you can be selfish and narcissistic, to have those same characteristics as those we as a society look down upon? As uncomfortable as I am to ask and answer these questions in my mind, I realize that in many ways we are no better than men like Ajit Pai, who want to destroy net neutrality, or Donald Trump, our controversial president (People I clearly have no respect for due to their inability to answer the two aforementioned questions).

I desperately hold on to the belief that humankind can and will be better than profit and greed, but every single day I am proven wrong. Every day I hear terrible insults being thrown in the hallway. Every day I see people fighting over food, playing tug of war with backpacks, or running away from their friends with their friends stolen phone in hand. I want to think we are better than how we present ourselves, but in reality, we all seem to be a collective group of greed driven, lustful animals.

To be better than human filth (Pai and Trump) should be a goal of us all, and I believe we can accomplish this. I now challenge you to a challenge many of you will likely not do because eff it, but try to notice people. Look for the lonely ones, find those who look like they have a story, talk to someone you have never seen. Pull your head from your usual social world and observe what happens around you, stop and see what you can learn and notice for just a minute.