Abstract:
What is it to be human? It is more than genetic code, more than a belief that we simply
exist, more than a classification. But what exactly defines who and what we are? Our
actions characterize who we are; our journey through time identifies what we become.
Who am I if I am not a merely reflection of my environment? I am the stories I have
heard and told, the sacrifices I have made, and the bargains I have cut.
The desire for something more, something that will answer my questions about human
life, is constantly present. It calls to me from the back of my mind. This voice, this
temptation, calls to nearly all humans.
I tell stories seeking to discover inner truths, revelations about myself and my
relationship to the world around me. Some of these truths have yet to reveal themselves;
nevertheless, I relate to others through words and images, sound and touch, but the
relationships still seem artificial.
What then allows me to identify myself as human, as part of a greater whole? It is the
stories I tell when I am faced with one of life’s many dilemmas, it is all I have lost, all
that I have gained in my search for knowledge. We truly relate in the most primitive yet
substantial ways in our lust to survive. For to be human, we must sacrifice, whether
through innocent acts or grand deceits, we must make bargains to survive in a boundless
world of knowledge.
