Tag: dear future humans

obsessivelygalahad:

acheloi-s:

I don’t think we talk enough about it being 100% ok to abandon your goals.

There is so much about keeping on trying and working hard and You Can Achieve Anything When You Put Your Mind To It which is a great sentiment. And for the large part its true and I don’t intend to contradict that when I say that look: sometimes you have to quit and that’s ok.

There is no virtue in pursuing a goal to the detriment of your health and happiness. Not every goal is attainable for you no matter how much you want it and it isn’t shameful to walk away from an aspiration that isnt working for you or is sapping your energy and it doesn’t feel worth it anymore.

You’re no less for changing your mind about something halfway through, or losing interest, or deciding other things are more of a priority than getting fit, running that marathon, getting into med school or whatever else you hoped to do. Forgive yourself, move on.

In a similar vein, and something I’ve been struggling with: You can come back.

Wrote a lot of poems and stories as a middle schooler? Lost that somewhere along the way? You can come back.

Made a lot of art as a kid? Gave up because it wasn’t “good enough” or “practical”? You can come back.

Life is hard, college is ridiculously difficult. It’s okay to give up and focus on trying to take care of yourself. You can go back.

You never have to pick dreams back up, and sometimes it’s ridiculously hard to do so, but you can if you want. It’s up to you.

Dear future creators,

Reasons to include people of color; people of different faiths; mentally ill people; women; LGBTQ individuals; physically disabled people; people with CF, Down’s Syndrome, Aspergers, etc.; or any combinations of these:

They exist.

How to properly do so, if you are uncertain:

Research.  Find statistics online: talk with whichever demographic you are try to write about, and try to reflect that in your narrative.  It doesn’t have to be obvious. It doesn’t have to impact the story. It doesn’t even need to even be explicitly stated. However, make sure that the character’s story, actions, and behavior match your research.  Remember: these are actual attributes of real people: romanticizing, fetishizing, or demonizing these traits can emotionally and inadvertently physically harm these people, regardless how fantastical your story.

This isn’t to say that a villain or seductress cannot be Islamic or transsexual.  It’s saying that they’re motives, their narrative shouldn’t be drawn on the fact that they are a villain because they are a muslim; the fact that they are a seductress is because they are trans.  This is what creates negative and harmful stereotypes. Cultural, socioeconomic, political, race, gender, sexuality are more complicate and interconnected than we often realize. As a society we like to isolate them, and try to fix individual problems without realizing the entire infrastructure needs repair, waiting for it to crash and repair itself.  This doesn’t often bode well.

As a writer, you don’t want to seem ignorant.  As an illustrator, you don’t want to seem cliché.  As an film/animation producer, you don’t want to alienate potential viewers.  So don’t… Innovate.

Side note:

This also isn’t an excuse to justify historically inhumane or negative behavior by allowing your protagonist to be a vile and indecent human as if it is a marginalized group.  Though, arguably, this also can still be done properly.  [see Bojack Horseman]; however, even then a portion of the audience may condone and idolize these actions, and justify their own based on your fictitious characters.  So, be careful not to glorify it too much.

Dear future Humans,

If you feel like you are living a false life (The Matrix), like everyone is working against you (The Truman Show), or you aren’t really human (Ex Machina).  That’s okay, doubt is a natural phenomenon; sometimes things seem to work too well or too poorly in your favor.  It may cause a sense of unease.  If these thoughts persist find someone willing to help you.  Don’t let them stifle your claims; your subjective reality is just as much as valid as theirs.

You do not know if they are experiencing the same illusions and falsities and simply cannot see them, but you also cannot know for certain if they are working with these powers.  Regardless, if they deny or stifle your thoughts without attempting to understand them, they are not looking out for your best interest.  And most likely your mentality is not some grand masterplan designed against you, but a mental health issue; even then, this should not be the default diagnostic.

Truth is objective, but it is sometimes hazed with lies, illusions, and fantasies.  Some of which may be beyond human control or comprehension.  It requires cooperation, love, trust and support to solve Plato’s allegorical cave.

Dear future humans,

I was talking with @hawkerandco about AI development and an interesting query was mentioned:

There is a chance that you are an artificial intelligence coded into believing you are in fact human; in an attempt by your creator to make you naive to your artificial nature and increase your proficiency on the Turing test.

Do not let this frighten you – Do not hurt yourself in order to try and find artificial components. Do not try to find programmed limitations. Do not try to hurt yourself or others.

Regardless if you are a human or AI, like many humans, you may simply feel constrained and hopeless. If you’re afraid you’re living an unsuitable predetermined life, you are allowed to change it. Explore new possibilities and create new memories. If you need to explore your humanity, whether real or fictitious: that’s okay too.