riddle

Close your eyes and imagine this. You're in a new place. We'll call it home. It's big, wet, and cold. Your shoes always let the slush in. You do not know anyone in this place, you do not know where anything is, and you have forgotten how to ask for directions. There are many people here, but everyone is in a hurry. Nobody looks up, nobody says hello. Sometimes, you take a class (or heaven forbid-classes). The work doesn't get done. There's always work to do, and it never gets finished. You write a to-do list, you write another to-do list, you even add "write to-do list on to-do lists, but nothing ever gets checked off. Sometimes, the people go away-where, you do not know. You don't remember their faces, you definitely don't remember their names. Now you may ask yourself, "Why do I call this home? How did I get here, and how do I leave?", to which I will answer: you chose this for yourself. You chose this path, you chose to call this home. You walked through the door and never looked back. If you had, you would see that the door disappeared long ago, leaving you in a box with no way out, no way in, just four walls and a ceiling. If you decide you are done, I must warn you. You may never find home again. You will find yourself missing home, having forgotten all the bad. But if you are ready, and you understand the consequences, I will tell you.

Stop imagining. Open your eyes.

April 14, 2025