This is a fair warning to all other users of this wonderful little slice of the internet – I am about to hop on a soapbox. mk, you jumpstarted a wonderfully horrifying essay – I hope you’re ready.
I recently posted a question on Hubski, asking the rest of the community a question that’s been percolating in my mind recently, namely: How do you use Hubski? I asked this question because I needed affirmation – proof that what I hoped Hubski would become for me exists outside the realm of my imagination.
Hubski used to be in my rearview mirror. According to my username stats, I joined over 300 days ago – almost a year now – and yet I could probably count the days I sat down and tried to engage with other Hubskiers on my fingers and toes. I felt left out of Hubski –it’s not the fault of how Hubski operates or how the userbase acts. I felt left out because at the end of a school day (mind you, I’m a high school junior) the least I wanted to do was to write out another paragraph of my thoughts to respond to a community generally more mature and older than I was. I’ve come to see the error in my ways.
Hubski is a community filled with meaningful people – filled with relationships and appreciation not found in other, darker corners of the web. The meaningless, easy-access content I used to be content in viewing (looking at you, Reddit), had turned my free time into pointless consumption. Gone were the days that I would approach reading with endless resolve (sidenote here – I spent the summer of my third grade year eating Cheetos and reading the unabridged Iliad, not that I understood much but I enjoyed the story) and the days where I would plunge into my writing and get lost in the sea of type and imagined fantasies. Over the summer and especially during my recent jaunt with my family up the coast to Seattle and Vancouver I have rediscovered my love of reading.
I finished Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain, Gladwell’s David and Goliath, and Howey’s WOOL series (books 1-5). I began writing again, especially poetry – developing curriculum for a couple of writing camps I was working at along the way. This Δ/t shift inspired me to take a more proactive approach to life. On one of my last days in Seattle, I visited the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center after lunch at the Space Needle. It was a humbling experience to see all the active work they do to improve the lives of people around the world, and it put my resolve over the edge. If it is possible that I can improve the thoughtstream of the human collective, I’d like to begin my journey down yet another pathway where I can add a few of my own thoughts to the fray.
This is a delicious cup of coffee I had at Seattle Coffee Works – to keep you going as you slog through this essay.
I’ve always wanted to be a part of a wonderful, diverse community filled with friendly people who could hold intelligent conversations and where my ideas could flow freely along a river and into the collective ocean of consciousness. When I arrived here at Hubski creek, I was intimidated by the clear waters, free of turbidity and rushing by at a tremendous rate. Now, though, is a different story. As silly as it sounds, I feel as though now I understand that this torrent of people and knowledge and collectivity has a place for me – it is a place where (as an extension of what kleinbl00 said) opinions are valued, where values are questioned, and where questions are loved.
To the users who responded to my question, thank you. Special thanks to mk, for jumpstarting my brain. Thanks to zonk, for giving me perspective. Thank you, kleinbl00, for your one-sentence answer on why Hubski?.
So, I guess this is just to say: I have decided to
come back to Hubski
where the waters run clear
and in which thought is essential Forgive me
for the time I was away
and accept me
for who I choose to become (structure loosely adapted from WCW's "This is Just to Say")I’m home, Hubski – the soapbox is yours.
PS Anyone feel like populating a #coffee tag?
I wrote this on an Airbus A320 returning to San Francisco from Seattle
with a stomach full of Forté El Salvador single-origin coffee roasted in Seattle
and a mind full of unwritten ideas and raised eyebrows.A word of advice? Try not to take it too seriously. One of the things I like best about Hubski is the fact that the kids can be kids and the fogeys can be fogeys and we can find common ground without having to be identical. As a high school junior you are allowed to have your own perspective on things that MUST be different than those of us with mortgages. That's part of what we like about you. That's why we listen. I'm glad you were able to get over your intimidation. Consider it a life lesson: in the end, the only thing you will ever have is your perspective and your experience. Learn how to share them for the betterment of others and the world shall be your oyster. And pay attention in math class. An understanding of Calculus gives you a Neo-like view of the Matrix that is the world. Trust me on this, because it'll be a while before you see it. PS. Caffe Ladro > SCW
Math is love, math is life. Seriously though... Math is so useful. It may be because I'm a programming major, but I really wish I remembered more from my highschool math classes. I've always been good at it, but I haven't used it in so long it takes me a while to get back the basics every time I go to do something even remotely complex.And pay attention in math class. An understanding of Calculus gives you a Neo-like view of the Matrix that is the world. Trust me on this, because it'll be a while before you see it.
Thanks kleinbl00, it means a lot for you to have read this all the way through. I am taking Calc 1-2 H this year (think AP Calc)...so that should be fun :) I'll do my best to balance everything -- this essay was more about just getting some thoughts out to the world. PS. I only had time to visit a few! Drank also at Caffe Artigiano in Vancouver and Fonte Cafe and Wine Bar in Seattle. Next trip I wanna see Storyville, Vivace, Victrola, and I guess Caffe Ladro. Damn that's a lot of cafes. edit: first badge! thanks :)
Hey kleinbl00 I like that line about calculus and The Matrix. I plan on reusing that with the middleschoolers I teach. Gotta help them keep the long-view in mind. Thanks. Also, demure, you'll hopefully find that Hubski is a place for people to trade ideas and upgrade their worldview and lives. Basically like kids and trading cards, just cooler.
Hey, class of '15 here. High (school) five! Thanks for sharing these reflections. I share a lot of your opinions about Hubski (and, it would seem, reddit), and it was great to read them so we'll articulated. But I have to ask, since you mentioned mindless consumption, do you find yourself engaging in this sort of consumption even of the more intellectual content here? I've noticed that, regardless of the value of the content I consume, the factor that influences my retention more than anything else is the sheer amount of time I spend processing it. That's why I've actually been spending less time on Hubski lately - it's harder to justify than, say, watching a documentary or reading a book, because I'm more likely to recall how I spent that time. That's my problem with bite/byte-sized culture in a nutshell. More thoughts to come in tomorrow's "50 days on Hubski!" post.
You are so, so lucky that you are realizing all of this as a high school junior. I'm not a whole lot older than you but I'm old enough to realize that the earlier you understand how simple and fun and effective it is to try to better yourself and contribute to everything around you, the faster you get to a good place. hubski's really good for that sort of thing. I set aside about 20 minutes of my day yesterday -- 20 minutes that I kind of needed, but hell -- to read and thoroughly understand 38 random maps. I know quite a bit more than I did yesterday, just because of that. Now multiply by about 40. So that's why I use hubski. Also for thenewgreen's tunes.I finished Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain, Gladwell’s David and Goliath, and Howey’s WOOL series (books 1-5). I began writing again, especially poetry – developing curriculum for a couple of writing camps I was working at along the way. This Δ/t shift inspired me to take a more proactive approach to life. On one of my last days in Seattle, I visited the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center after lunch at the Space Needle. It was a humbling experience to see all the active work they do to improve the lives of people around the world, and it put my resolve over the edge. If it is possible that I can improve the thoughtstream of the human collective, I’d like to begin my journey down yet another pathway where I can add a few of my own thoughts to the fray.
I just got back from a run and I tried not to get on the internet but then I became spontaneously worried that I was IRON DEFICIENT because I have recently stopped eating meat mostly and so I googled and googled and checked all of the nutrition labels on all of my food and suddenly fucking RAISIN BRAN saves my ass with 50% daily value times like 1.5 because I eat huge servings in the morning and then I got on hubski by muscle memory and read your little piece.
Dude, Raisin Bran's the shit. Like fuckin' Wheaties on steroids, and also delicious. If I wasn't addicted to honey nut Cheerios (don't ask), I'd probably have it for breakfast every day. Delicious and nutritious, bitches! It's really late here. I should go to sleep.
Earlier submission ("How do you use hubski?") is here, for the curious :
Thank you, demure. That sounds like a good place to be. As much as older folk might seem to have a clue about a number of things, we have gathered baggage in the process that can box us up. Keeping an open line to what you can freely access and making sense of what has come since makes the difference between sinking or swimming for some later in life. Everyone has something to offer, and that's not a platitude, because it's not easy to be honest. Intimidation loses to honesty.