"You: An Abstract Idea" by Samantha Q.

  “You”, the word, is singular and often connatated, if not synonymous with, individuality. I
believe that to not only be incorrect but in alignment with human nature’s vain tendencies as
well; instead, “you” are not an individual but a finite component of the infinite system that you
are a product of, that system being the Universe. It only seems fitting that this piece should be
philosophical with an existential tone because it correlates to our lessons in AP Lit but that is not
this piece’s purpose. We cannot view ourselves as separate from each other when, in the grand
scheme of things, we are all made of the same elements; oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen,
and calcium. The same elements that were created in the cosmos that formed nebulas which
then formed stars and planets which made up galaxies and eventually they all made us and
“you”. I’ve just always loved the idea that all we are is stardust and each of us is a star child
(RIP to the homie David Bowie). Humanity has always been interconnected by this unknown tie
that moves through us all, a domino effect that starts a one person and travels through
everyone as Newton believed “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”.
Therefore “you” should not be seen as singular because of the subsequent effect you have on
others. One of the oldest questions that has given rise to storytelling and research is “who are
we? Why? Where are we from?”. As civilizations have evolved so has our reasoning, we first
believed the sun was a torch being held by a giant and that the astrological signs were
characters in the stories we’d tell the children to make sense of things. Now we know of the true
mechanisms of space and have a better perspective on who we are as humans and although
our research is advanced our motivation is as constant as the north star, “who are we? Why?
Where are we from?”. We, YOU, all of us are just collisions of the same energy of the universe.
We are the conscious forms of the universe, we are miniscule pieces of the ever expanding
space that therefore forces us to be even smaller every time it is further stretched to its end. We
are the cosmos realizing itself is alive because we are becoming aware of IT and for that reason
we can no longer fall to our self centered disposition but instead acknowledge that we are so
small (not to be confused with insignificant or without purpose) that we are analogous to the
atoms in an element’s molecule. “You” should no longer be seen as the individual because it is
the “we” that is voyaging to make sense of our own self discovery since we are all products of
space. The lack of individuality may have a pessimistic tone to many of you but to me that is not
the focus, the idea of being made of something so “out of this world’ (pun intended) is honestly a
beautiful sentiment. Also, if you think about it, whenever we look up into space through our
telescopes there is a sense of anxiety when staring into the great unknown but a sense of
peace as well and i believe that that’s because, in our minds, we’re going home.