Carl Sagan once said that we are, quite literally, made of stars. That every atom in your body was once inside a star that exploded. That you are star dust.
I was told that as a child, many times. But it never quite sank in.
I thought my parents were being metaphorical, that I'm special and I'm important because, hey, I'm made of stars aren't I?
But then I watched Carl Sagan's Cosmos, and realized not only what the word 'literally' meant, but also that his words were true. That I am an exploded star -- that I am many exploded stars. I am made up of the lost souls that once dangled free in the vast emptiness that is space. That once blazed and burned, and shone light on the universe.
I am a bright human being, shining light on the Earth. As are you. As are all of you.
But sometimes we forget, like we forget to gaze up at the stars in wonder each night, because we only get the oppourtunity to every day. We forget to bask in the beauty of this world.
Another man by the name Roger Ebert once said that we quickly grow accustomed to wonders. He recalled Isaac Asimov's story, Nightfall, about the planet where the stars were visible only once in a thousand years, and so awesome was the sight that it drove men mad.
He said that we, who can see the stars every night, only glance up casually at the grand beauty of the cosmos, and then quickly down again, in search of a Dairy Queen.
We forget.
I have one more quote for you, from a man named Timothy Ferris. He once said that we live in a changing universe, and that few things are changing faster than our conception of it.
Just as we are like stars, we are like the universe. We are ever-changing. We take in information nearly every second we're alive. We make decisions and change our minds. We change our lives.
And we change how we perceive ourselves.
One day you may think you are nothing but dirt.
But others, you might remember.
You might remember to look up at the cosmos.
You might remember that you're always changing.
You might remember
That you are made of star stuff.
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140,666 Literary Works • 673,585 Reviews
Hey lady, thought I'd take you up on your offer for a character sketch! For one, I thought this was a really good piece and I have next to nothing to critique you on. However, next to nothing is semi-substantial, so here are the few comments I do have,
The message was very relevant and clearly stated and I enjoyed the read.
For one, I really love the quotes you use. They really help pace your piece and aid in your revelations. However, I believe that you are being almost careless in your casual throwing around of names. Some people do not recognise some of the names of the people you quote and therefore admire the quote, but take nothing from the quoted. Personally, being accustomed to Robert Ebert's sharp wit I appreciated the reference. However, for the sake of clarification, and for the sake of readers taking the most out of your writing, adding in a short statement about who these people are would make your interpretations more valid and enriching. Additionally, when you make direct quotes, I think you should put them in quotations. This not only shows respect for the people whose words you use, but helps to differentiate their words from yours.
Aside from this, I thought your piece was clean, very well conveyed, and all together quite a shining star.
Threnody
Hey there, Satan!
I'm not really going to give you a very helpful review, seeing as this doesn't really strike me as a piece that needs a proper review. It's more thought provoking than in need of grammar fixing and plot hole filing. I think this is why this 'story' doesn't seem like a story to me. It's more like a piece of flash-fiction, designed to make you think.
I liked that you used quotes in the piece. It kind of gave a background to where your inspiration to write this came from. It gave it more meaning too.
I guess what I gained from this piece was that sometimes, a lot of the time infact, we take things for granted. Being alive is special. There have been a lot of times when I haven't necessarily thought this, but I guess it's works like this that remind me to make the most of life.
Yeah. I'm going to leave it at that. Thanks for reminding me to enjoy myself when I'm here.
xDudettex