the idea that we are all connected by strings. imperceptible, flittering strings tracing back and back and back into the past and stretching into the future. strings between you and your english professor, strings between you and your ex who is now gay and lives with his french boyfriend in singapore, strings between you and the tired lady in the elevator with you last wednesday who was old enough and pretty enough to be your mother (whom you should call; it's been a while). the idea that you leave a web of thoughts and impacts behind you wherever you go, strings stretching and twisting and sometimes growing so fine they become mere wisps of memory. and the idea of future strings extending in front of you. some more significant than others some more tangible than others- still undeniable connections. assurances that there is a future. that you do matter. that strings cannot stay intertwined if one breaks.