thank you for writing this Grace, it encapsulates SO much of what I've been thinking about lately. i'm 18 and i spent a lot of my teen years in covid, and i'm looking around me at my generation and there's an ever deeper dependency and fear to leave the cave, because at 13 we were taught to fear going outside, to fear strangers, to fear being close with people. technology, social media, 'the cave' is a coping mechanism and a place of safety and instant dopamine because kids don't know how to navigate the world anymore, covid changed everything.
covid-teens got asked to sacrifice their worlds, their friends and their education for a virus that held no threat to us, and no one is acknowledging what we gave up, or helping us unlearn the fear. it's kind of no wonder reform are getting so many young votes, it pains me to say it but i think young people are looking for a leader that acknowledges young people's problems and sacrifice.
i know covid has had a long lasting impact on me and so many young brains. i can feel a deep craving for connection in the circles around me and i think young people feel quite abandoned because i don't think anyone is helping us to unlearn the social and world fear we were taught? i want someone to lead young people out of the cave of fear!!
I loved this Grace, thank you - it echoes much that I’m thinking about. Not least the spiritual component. (And, I have been meaning to learn how to knit properly… thank you for the prompt to do so this year! 🧶)
my mum is an avid knitter and taught me a few times growing up, but i think i really got into it during lockdown, and it took me two years or so to feel confident? x
Also Betty Silk on insta (who is a friend & who was on the Sewing Bee last year) has some lovely encouragement regarding the therapy of slow making including knitting.
"Perhaps the algorithm is the contemporary chain that keeps us in place, looking at the back of the cave instead of at the world around us." great stuff right there
I studied The Republic as a philosophy undergrad and your essay has made it more tangible, relatable and engaging than a three year degree did. So, thank you for writing it! I also intend to make/do more with my hands this year, I feel it’s a simple thing that is within all of our reach to keep grounded and in touch with what is real in an artificial world.
thank you for writing this Grace, it encapsulates SO much of what I've been thinking about lately. i'm 18 and i spent a lot of my teen years in covid, and i'm looking around me at my generation and there's an ever deeper dependency and fear to leave the cave, because at 13 we were taught to fear going outside, to fear strangers, to fear being close with people. technology, social media, 'the cave' is a coping mechanism and a place of safety and instant dopamine because kids don't know how to navigate the world anymore, covid changed everything.
covid-teens got asked to sacrifice their worlds, their friends and their education for a virus that held no threat to us, and no one is acknowledging what we gave up, or helping us unlearn the fear. it's kind of no wonder reform are getting so many young votes, it pains me to say it but i think young people are looking for a leader that acknowledges young people's problems and sacrifice.
i know covid has had a long lasting impact on me and so many young brains. i can feel a deep craving for connection in the circles around me and i think young people feel quite abandoned because i don't think anyone is helping us to unlearn the social and world fear we were taught? i want someone to lead young people out of the cave of fear!!
thank you for your beautiful words x
I loved this Grace, thank you - it echoes much that I’m thinking about. Not least the spiritual component. (And, I have been meaning to learn how to knit properly… thank you for the prompt to do so this year! 🧶)
thank you Elizabeth! Ravelry is a great place to find free patterns if you are starting out :-)
Ooo thanks. How long did it take you to learn to knit? I have tried to teach myself before but didn’t stick with it. This year! 🙏🧶
my mum is an avid knitter and taught me a few times growing up, but i think i really got into it during lockdown, and it took me two years or so to feel confident? x
Also Betty Silk on insta (who is a friend & who was on the Sewing Bee last year) has some lovely encouragement regarding the therapy of slow making including knitting.
i will check her out 😊
"Perhaps the algorithm is the contemporary chain that keeps us in place, looking at the back of the cave instead of at the world around us." great stuff right there
This is so good. You clearly were still working (even subconsciously) during your maternity “leave”. Bravo 👏🏼
thanks Liz!
I saw it on the tellybox - I know it must be true
I watched it in my smelly socks, which made me think of you
I heard it on the radio - I know it must be real
the music that it played me tho' had such a fake news feel
I read it in the newspaper - of course it's gospel, yes!
save it for fish & chips later, with words hot off the press
But now the blessed interweb is always spinning yarns
May purity and innocence keep you from any harm
I studied The Republic as a philosophy undergrad and your essay has made it more tangible, relatable and engaging than a three year degree did. So, thank you for writing it! I also intend to make/do more with my hands this year, I feel it’s a simple thing that is within all of our reach to keep grounded and in touch with what is real in an artificial world.
ahh thank you so much Molly! Making things has helped me so much and I hope you find the same <3
I also recognise that this is a v.v simplified summary of The Republic!
Simplicity is the hardest thing! <<< someone said this to me once and I’ve always remembered/savoured it
totally! Thanks Claire - and happy new year x