Networks Whereabouts – Writing Prompt
When I think of networks, I start to snowball in my mind what that really means and where people find their own networks. Networks is such a broad topic; you can really work it into anything. So, whereabouts do you feel the essence of networks?
Where do you feel the most connected to others in your abundance of networks? We have friends and family near and far. Classmates, workmates, roommates. As strangers walk past you at a fast pace, perhaps one of your networking strings will reach out and latch on to them. They will attach themselves to your social circle and you will do the same. Two completely different sets of networks and connections will coincide. Friends of friends become friends. Friends become lovers. Lovers sometimes even turn to haters. Or perhaps, you will stay strangers – blissfully ignorant of the other and their personal life.
Do you feel the most connected in a huge puddle of people who adore you? Your loved one’s arms and limbs all blur together as they reach out to you for embraces. Their voices echo over one another as they try to gain your attention. They ask about your life – what are you doing? Who are you seeing? What are you drinking? You choose if these questions roll off your tongue like melting butter or if they overwhelm you into silence. Is this where you feel at home?
Do you feel most connected when only networked to a small group? Your arms interlock comfortably, as do your secrets. I grew up with a tight knit group of friends and when I tell you that they know me better than I do, I’m not lying. We’re connected by a small tattoo outlined on our wrists. If this connection is every severed, a destruction of networks will occur. We have married our families, our friends, and our lives. Without them, I’m not sure who I would be connected to. Like me, is this where you feel at home?
Do you feel most connected when you’re alone? Do you sit and watch people walk by, drive by, dance by and make up lives for them in your head? As your brain jumbles quickly to create a story arc for the strangers in front of you, you begin to form connections and networks in your own mind out of pure fantasy. This one is secretly in love with her best friend. The other has lost a child. The one dancing makes everyone around them happy but can’t seem to do the same for themselves. Is this where you feel at home?
Do you feel the most connected while sitting in front of a computer screen? Do you type your life to strangers who have common interest or loved ones who live overseas? You become the author of your own life – do you ever lie to feel more connected to someone or forge a network? Is this where you feel most at home?
Whereabouts do you feel the essence of networks? Tell us here.