This Is the End.

As a writer, I find describing the human condition to be the ultimate challenge. No equation exists to explain the complexity of the human experience, as it is unlike any other entity in nature. No combination of words can adequately explain the joy of a mother gazing upon her child for the first time, nor the sorrow felt by that same child as he lowers his mother into her grave. To give a complete voice to a person is both aspirational and impossible.

 

Endings are ephemeral, transient, and difficult to contain within the bounds of a paragraph or sentence. They are an inherent part of life that everyone experiences, yet no one can fully comprehend. People generally don't like thinking about endings; they don't sit well with change, uncertainty, or finality. This project studies endings of all types in an attempt to question the meaning of endings, their prevalence in our lives, and the ways in which humans experience them.

 

I am extremely conscious of endings in my own life, thus my goal for this project is to summon endings to the forefront of readers' minds. I have approached this task by covering endings of various severity, from the last bite of an enjoyable meal to the day a kid finds out there is no Santa Claus to death. Some of these pieces are fictional while others are narratives from my own life and the lives of family and friends. In lieu of explaining what I have learned about endings through the production of this project, I invite you to draw your own conclusions and refect on the endings in your own life.