hu·man

/ˈ(h)yo͞omən/

noun

1. a human being, especially a person as distinguished from an animal or (in science fiction) an alien.

When I searched up the “definition of human” in Google, this is the first meaning I got, straight from the dictionary. In hindsight, there’s nothing incorrect about the description. It’s true, but it’s not how most of us would describe a “human.” Humans are a lot of things, but I don’t think we can be described by one, two, three, or even four definitions. 

There’s layers to this.

When I think of our accomplishments as human beings, it’s how we contribute to society. I think of the founding of the United States of America, Neil Armstrong landing on the moon, the first ever ascent to mount Everest, Tiger Woods winning the 2019 Masters tournament, and the U.S National Women’s soccer team taking home the prize. Obviously there are many more accomplishments to be named, for many great things happen around the world everyday, but if we “humans” were to be defined by our accomplishments alone, we wouldn’t get very far. Nobody chops down a tree within the first swing. For it is struggle and failure where we learn the most. You might only hear about the success, and maybe it’s a good thing that we are remembered for our accomplishments more than failures, but it is because we failed over and over and over again that allowed us to succeed. You might’ve heard about the moon landing, but did you hear about the hours of calculations, experiments and tests that went into planning that mission? Did you hear about the times the scientist cried because their calculations were off again? Did you hear about the hours that Michael Jordan spent training in the gym to win 6 titles?

Something I would compare this to: waves.

wave

/wāv/

noun

1. 
   a long body of water curling into an arched form and breaking on the shore.

It’s almost as if life itself is the beach, our problems are the waves, and we’re standing in the middle of it all. The waves will constantly crash down on us and make us stumble. It’ll then drag us in, only to crash on us once again. An endless cycle, with each wave more exhausting than the last, people stand from the shore watching us, watching our every move, our every mistake, pressuring us to succeed. 

That’s just one way to see it.

However, another way I see it is that we are the waves. Kanye West has a song called “Waves” in which he sings that “waves don’t die.” That is true, waves crash for a moment only to form themselves anew and stand tall again. They don’t stop, not even if they wanted to. In a way, they have an endless mentality, that when they crash and fall they will get back up again. Like us. We are the waves.

As they say, the story is never about how we fall, but always of how we get back up. The story is never of how you lost, but of what you did the next time to win, never of how we failed, but instead of our determination, will and strength, that didn’t allow us to give up, but instead of how it allowed us to try again. We get frustrated, mad, sad, we cry, we almost quit, but even if we do we always come back. Because being human is much more than just being able to have a complex understanding of something, being able to problem solve, and being able to understand a language. Being human is about being emotional, about failing and succeeding, about chasing dreams and greatness, about struggling together and building relationships. 

You can take today’s current issue as an example. COVID-19. This pandemic known as the coronavirus has altered our lives in a lot of ways. In ways that make daily life more difficult. Some of us are struggling more than others, making it difficult to go on with their current situations. From first responders, teachers, students, office workers, athletes, parents, and kids. It is another wave trying to knock us down and test our strength to get back up again. But as I said earlier, we are humans, like waves. We will struggle, cry, and get mad, but we will always get back up again. 

However you choose to see yourself is solely up to you. Whether you see yourself as a simple being, an endless wave, or someone in the middle of it all. An important thing to remember is that I’ve never seen someone in the ocean by themselves.