there is something to say about the moments of uncertainty, unfamiliarity, and solidarity. Two recent work-trips made me ponder the impact of “being alone”. Both times, I was traveling solo to hubs in the United States (New York City and Chicago). Both locations were buzzing – people, noise, and energy.

What caught me off-guard is the realization that when I’m surrounded by more people, I actually feel the more alone. Two of the busiest/populated areas resulted in me feeling utterly abandoned. The inverse relationship is humbling… and somewhat disappointing/sad.

My first recollection of this feeling was during my freshman year at Boston University. I can vividly remember memories/feelings/emotions. I remember walking to class on Commonwealth Avenue and felt beyond irrelevant. There was hoards of people rushing everywhere – on the sidewalk, in cars, on the train/buses, etc. I remember saying to myself “damn, there’s a lot going on.

Let’s zoom out. There are ~8.5B people in the world. Every single person, purposely or not, has an agenda – they naturally think about themselves infinitely more than any other individual on the planet, – dead, alive, or yet to be born.

My take on this can be broken down as follows:

1. is it completely insane to think that people actually care what you do/are doing. seriously, this makes no sense. people are too busy thinking about what they are doing to notice and/or care/pretend to care about what you are doing. Therefore, there is absolutely zero (0) reason/rationality supporting the notion of not doing what you want to do.
2. moments like I mentioned remove all fluff/bull shit from the windshield. yes, it can be depressing to realize that you aren’t important/cared about as much as you thought or would like to be. Yet, these moments of clarity provide invaluable insight. when you are removed from your normal routine (in my case, traveling/staying in an alien city), it reveals who/what matters. “Who, if anyone, realizes/cares that I’m gone/out-of-place? Who do I continue communication with? The answers come quick in times like these. There is signal and noise to differentiate.

I’m under the impression that is a byproduct of “growing up”. My final thought/concern is that it appears there may be an issue on how people (specifically individuals growing up in parallel to the development of innovative technology) are going to come to terms with the reality of life off-line. Social media has an inherent flaw – the creation and continuation of a narrative that is misaligned with one’s reality (e.g., Instagram – posting photos of the “best” moments), and the preconception/ideation that one’s social peers (followers, subscribers, etc) care about them and/or have their best interests in mind.

I want to clarify, I am 100% supportive of developing/investing in the development of personal brands and the use of social media, but I’m weary that misuse can be completely catastrophic to an individual well-being.

I’m going to keep pondering this. I’m becoming fascinated by the reoccurring reality of inverse relationships (e..g., the more you know… the less you know).

P.S: Life becomes a lot more enjoyable when you realize that 99.9% of “people” around you are NPCs. Also Chicago > NYC > Boston. ama