A world without borders is what we should strive for

This is an anonymous story collected from the public as part of the Human Archive Project by Nicola Anthony

Originally from a small town I have mostly lived in big cities in many countries all my adult life. I carry with me memories of inspirational people from many places and an awareness that now more than ever a world without borders is what we should strive for.

The vast and unexpected mountain that is life

This is an anonymous story collected from the public as part of the Human Archive Project

It was my 30th birthday, and while I have had some or happiest times in Singapore, it is occasions like this where the absence of friends and family from your home country is felt most deeply. It’s as if I could feel each and every step of the 10,800 km that separates you from the home in which you grew up in. As I sat up on my bed, and walked across to my kitchen, my girlfriend was instructing me to go back into the bedroom. I had no idea what was in store for me. She soon called me back into the living room, and said: “I have a very special day planned for you my dear, all I ask is that you keep an eye on your phone.”

She did not disappoint. Over the course of the day, I received 60 different video messages from friends and family across the world. I was overwhelmed with happiness. It’s as if at that point technology had help us overcome those 10,800km, and I was sitting at home in my family living room opening cards and sharing laughs all together. It turns out my girlfriend had spent the preceding weeks contacting each and everyone of the people closest to me, and asked them to send across a message. While it was the videos that brought about that moment of unexpected happiness, I cannot underplay the thoughtfulness of my partner in bringing about this moment. Her actions bring me moments of unexpected happiness each and every day, and I feel so grateful to have this person by my side, scaling the vast and unexpected mountain that is life.

I think I may be happier the other way round

This is an anonymous story collected from the public as part of the Human Archive Project

I Have high IQ but low EQ. I think I may be happier the other way round.

But, I still miss her

This is an anonymous story collected from the public as part of the Human Archive Project

For 2 years I had the deepest infatuation for her, poured my heart and soul into her, but she didn't like me at all. After 2 years, she told me she told me the opposite. But by then, I left her and I was gone. Ironically, both of us were shattered. But, I still miss her.

Chased after by those I don't want, and rejected by those I do.

This is an anonymous story collected from the public as part of the Human Archive Project

I've been through a lot of online 'relationships'. At the end of the day, it was just helping much older men pleasure themselves. I was too young, and I never should've started, but I don't know why I didn't stop, either. Maybe it was the power I had over them- a young child, reigning over an older man's pleasure? The control I didn't have in my life, I had it online. To me, then, it was like I was living a double life. It was thrilling, and my friends would always look up at me for the experiences I had.

Of course, that quickly led to a exposure that happened too young; too fast.

I never saw their face, and they never saw mine, but being in direct control over their pleasure had a certain sort of intimacy which you couldn't find at my age. By then, I'd been hit on, used as masturbation material, had over half a dozen unwarranted, inappropriate pictures shoved in my face, and even called a slut simply because I refused to sext with him anymore. Recently, someone even tried to blackmail me with pictures that he didn't have- a bluff he called a joke.

I've also met some in real life, and some have lead to experiences that sometimes, I wasn't so sure of. But it was always about the fun, about the stress relief it brought. On the other hand...I've always wondered, if because of these past experiences, I would become undesirable to the people I'm romantically attracted to. Already because of my gender and sexuality, but with these past experiences...who knows, though, because I've always been rejected by them.

The irony. Chased after by those I don't want, and rejected by those I do.

I realise that something saved my life

I was 17 and was on the verge of committing suicide. It was on the very day that I decide to end my life for once and for all. I went up to level 12 of my HDB flat, ready and prepared. However when I look down from level 12, something make me stop and soon later I decide not to do it. For a while, I regret that decision. As time fly by, I realise that something saved my life. Till to today, I still wondering what was that something that make me stop doing it. At the same time, Im afraid that I have the thought of committing suicide once again.

I am magnificent and at the same time worthless

I have darkness; a deep malcontent which is always searching and yearning for satiation. I am the darkness, and it is me. But, by nature, it is unseen, which means I go unseen. I feel unheard, misunderstood, unfairly judged by the world and those in it. I feel a desire for objects to hold inside me. I feel like they will keep me safe, or at the least, distracted. But they do not, because they are part of the darkness, and so the more I focus on my acquisition and achievement the most I melt away from the light and become further from my ultimate goal - to be truly seen and understood by someone.

This cycle of madness is unending, and all-encompassing. Every so often it will bring me to my knees, where I will ask God for forgiveness and guidance. I do not know if He responds, but I always end up in the same place so I think not. Or perhaps I just stop listening. I feel empty and worthless. A sense of profound insignificance plagues my waking thoughts and destroys my drive. What's the point? I ask. No reply comes. At the same time, when my ideas are challenged I feel a pain somewhere deep inside, as if someone has not only challenged my thoughts but my person; my existence.

Though I try not to show it to the people I love most, there is a large part of me which believes I am supreme. I think in a way like no other. I come to conclusions that only the best might arrive at. And every thought spoken is backed by a sea of thoughts never uttered. So you see I exist in a constant state of flux. I am magnificent. And at the same time, worthless. And all the time I am yearning for something that I can never know, for as soon as I know my desire, it moves on to something else. So what is it like to be me? Like shifting sands in the nighttime.

I have destroyed the lives of those who loved me in the past

I am selfish. Though, I like to tell others I'm not. I have destroyed the lives of those who loved me in the past. I have cheated in every relationship I have been in. I have cheated with others who are in a relationship and destroyed theirs. I am impatient, self important and I can get evil. But I also want to help people. I want to help those who are troubled in this society. I want to create a level ground for everyone from every background. PS: I've always wanted to be Prime Minister.

I used to be a nobody

I used to be a nobody; working 9-6 on a regular job in a MNC company. Trying to save up the miserable pay to go on a holiday once a year. Life is just between home and office.

Now I am an entrepreneur; a gallerist set on a mission to help the low income and underprivileged artists, to help those in need of a platform to showcase their art.... and hopefully sell their works and make a living. It is no longer about MONEY, but the social cause and how you give back to the society. This makes me HAPPY.

A friend once said: you can earn loads of MONEY in this life... but at the edge of your life lying on the sick bed, is it MONEY you are still thinking of?? Or the moments you wished you had done in your life? Have you lead a HAPPY life?

I understood myself better

You know me, Nicola. You know me because I discovered that I love art. Not all art. Art at school was traditional - I am twice your age. 20th century art started to fire my imagination. It was familiar subjects seen with imagination - impressionist....then post impressionist. I started to collect pop-art which symbolised the icons of my life, and then I discovered your work: your use of words in art fascinated me. It resonated with me; it spoke back to me; I felt that it understood my feelings and echoed them, questioned them. I interacted with your art, I questioned myself, and understood myself better. I am now a better, happier, more contented and compassionate person.

Thank you! Thank you very much!

Uninspiring, uneventful and under valued

This is an anonymous story collected from the public as part of the Human Archive Project

I am me. Coasting along at a constant. A barometer of normality to the outside world. Uninspiring, uneventful and under valued. I am me.

Being an artist

This is an anonymous story collected from the public as part of the Human Archive Project

Being an artist and an author can be fun.

The molecules that make up my body are part of the universe

This is an anonymous story collected from the public as part of the Human Archive Project

I am a bit of everything, in more ways than one. The molecules that make up my body are part of the universe. I am curious about dying, but not ready to go yet.