Since The Jwst Is On Everyone's Minds Right Now, I Want To Take A Second To Remember Voyager I, Our Little

since the jwst is on everyone's minds right now, i want to take a second to remember voyager i, our little interstellar probe that could. it's out past the sun's reach now, traveling away from us at nearly 40,000 mph. and it carries with it the "golden record".

we knew when we sent it that it would eventually leave the solar system, and would someday -- many, many years in the future -- find another star or solar system. eventually. the laws of physics demand it.

and so we put a record of ourselves with it. just in case -- in the highly unlikely, but still possible, event that it happened upon a world with intelligent life that could understand it. our message in a bottle, cast out into the endless sea of space.

we recorded our voices, in many languages. we recorded the sounds of wild animals, of insects, of water rushing. we recorded brainwaves.

ann druyan's brainwaves, in fact. an hour of them, as she thought of all kinds of things.

she and carl sagan worked on this project together, and over the course of their work, they fell in love.

she took the time, during the recordings, to think of him, and how she felt about him.

so that love -- not just earth's existence, or its sounds, or human voices, but love -- would be sent out in our message, cast out into the ocean of space, in the distant hope that someday, somewhere, something would see it and hear us, and know us, and know how we feel.

even if voyager i never finds another life in the universe, even if the golden record is never played, i think it's important that we sent it anyway. what it says about us as a people, our hope and our optimism and our faith and our love -- we cast this all out into the stars.

"dare to cast thy bread upon the sea," indeed.

I know that at age 19 I certainly haven’t figured out all the secrets of the world, and it’s likely that I’ll change my mind, and I hope I can, but for now, I think the world is more terrible than good. Now, and certainly historically. The weight of everyone who’s ever been tortured or killed or suffered weighs me down every day, and I know happiness is beautiful, but there can’t ever be enough of it to balance it out. Like Maggie Smith said, “the world is at least 50% terrible, and that’s a conservative estimate,” and she’s right. Still I know that I must persevere because I want so deeply to make this place better. However I’ve ended up here, I only want everyone to be happy.

If I were given a choice to erase it all, to erase everything on Earth, human and animal, from ever existing, I don’t know if I wouldn’t. The weight of all the pain this world has inflicted, not to me, but to everyone, is too much.

Even if the world is more bad than good, I still think we can choose hope and love.

“It doesn’t have to be this way” and “I want no one to be hurt ever again” are the beat my heart takes. Sometimes I can’t think anything but those words. It doesn’t have to be this way. And I want no one to be hurt ever again. Please.

this is pretty much the best place to vent where there’s some chance of someone seeing it but not basically forcing anyone to respond or whatever

im mourning a better world that I know I’ll never get to. There’s so much in my personal life I’m sad about but rn the #1 thing bothering me is the world. I’m so goddamn scared. And also so upset, I feel like every tragedy that’s ever happened is constantly weighing me down. I just want everyone to be okay but it’s never going to happen. Some things seem so easy to fix but we just aren’t. I wish I could beam compassion and sense into everyone. I wish I was never born to witness this. It’s too much for me. But I can’t die because I’m so utterly terrified for what comes after. And I know that me dying would only bring more misery, which is the last thing I want, but it’s getting so hard. I’m so lonely and I don’t know who to talk to about all this. My best friend blocked me last year and I’m still not over it. My special interest is like half my life even though it brings me so much stress. I don’t think anyone will ever really find me attractive. Living in this world is exhausting and I have to grieve it every day. My current best friend i don’t even know what he thinks of me and I keep embarrassing myself in front of him. I know climate change or a nuclear war is gonna ruin everything and I’m trying to enjoy what time I have before that but it’s really hard. It’s so hard to feel every emotion so acutely. I don’t think I’m strong enough to fight. I think of the ways that would be the least painful to die. I can’t deal with any pain. I don’t know why my one friend is ignoring me. I know he only uses me as someone to talk at- not to- and doesn’t really care for me anymore. I don’t feel empty I am uncomfortably full. I’m so stupid and I’m not joking around or anything I just really am. why can’t everyone just have a warm place to sleep with food always available. Why can’t we get there already. What’s stopping us. Why

things that make life worth living

purple pens

cats

hugs that linger

too tight hugs

platonic cuddling

soft blankets

lying on freshly vacuumed carpet

a new haircut

ice cream from my favorite shop

homecooked meals

licking cake batter off the spoon

finishing a good book

waking up rested

afternoon naps

people who understand me

finally changing out a new piercing

driving with the windows down

my grandparents house at christmas time

soup

listen I know not showing the monster is often times the best choice to create suspense in the audience and also foster imagination and wonder, but have you considered… some monster design is just sick af and it’s awesome to see it come to life