Am I a Rock, a Tree, or… a Pretzel?

-

 I am a rock, a tree, or even a bag of pretzels on my table. Or am I not?

What a bizarre thought. I mean, I’m fairly certain I’m not a pretzel—unless, of course, there’s some parallel universe where pretzels write essays about their own existence. But let’s stick to this universe for now.

When my curiosity gets too big to fit in my head, I lean on old, musty books who don’t mind my endless questions.

“Atoms of iron were hard and strong... atoms of water were smooth and slippery like poppy seeds.”

It was a line from an ancient, yellowing Physical Chemistry textbook by Walter J. Moore (1962) that my AP Chem teacher handed me after I wouldn’t stop talking about quantum physics.

Everything is made of the same fundamental elements. So, why do iron and water feel so different?

I mean, if string theory is correct, and the universe is made of tiny vibrating strings, then what really separates me from a rock, a tree, or, yes, the pretzel?

I knew that there was more to me than just atoms vibrating.
But why?

I looked around. In terms of matter, we're no different from the objects surrounding us—carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, all assembled in complex ways. But we, humans, have this wild ability to interpret.

The desk in front of me? We decided to call this particular chunk of atoms… desk.
We take the swirling chaos of the universe and turn it into meaning.
We create art, music, and poetry.
We fall in love.
We see beauty where others might just see atoms bouncing around.

If we stop interpreting, the world reverts to meaningless chaos—a swirling, disordered soup of atoms and light.
No stories. No music. No beauty.
Just… stuff.

And yet, how we interpret that meaning is different for everyone.
But why?

We didn't stumble into a world perfectly designed for us. Instead, we build our own realities. One may hum a melody while the sun shines through the leaves; another may sneeze at and curse the pollen. The world isn't "out there"; it's within us, shaped by how we choose to see it.

And it all began 13.8 billion years ago with a bang. In the first fraction of a second, quarks formed protons and neutrons—the very particles that make up both me and the pretzel on my table.

Maybe I was a pretzel back then, but over 13.8 billion years and 9 months more, I started interpreting my universe.
That's how I became me.

When I was 8, my world was simple:

“I am the kid choosing between rice or bread, waiting for inevitable death.”
(Yep, that’s straight from my rap lyrics.)

Back then, nothing mattered more than filling my tummy.

However, later, when my dad flew off to Korea, leaving behind more than just an empty chair at the dinner table…
When my mom started coming home at 9 p.m. every night, her tired eyes replacing bedtime stories…
When my sister struggled with depression, screaming through nights as she fought her own demons—

Rice or bread couldn’t fill the emptiness I felt. I needed something more.

Surprisingly, quantum physics showed me the beauty I never before realized.

From the photons bouncing off atoms to the signals in my brain, I notice that the beauty of a maple tree only exists because I see it that way. I place my hand on my heart and feel its rhythm. It’s not just a pump moving blood—

It’s a metronome ticking away the moments of my life, reminding me that I am here, alive, and aware.

The atoms don't know they are part of me.
But I do.
And that was enough to help me leave my scars behind.

So, who am I?

I'm not just a rock, a tree, or a bag of pretzels.

I am Robin.

And that’s the meaning I give myself.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We are all artists

-
Image
The beauty comes after realization. But if you think about it, when we realize beauty, it is human perception that plays a crucial role. When we see a piece of paper covered in colors, and we view it through our own lens and realize how beautiful the drawings are, or perhaps how intricate the patterns, we now call that paper a piece of art. But this leads to another question.  "Is art defined by the object itself, or by the way we perceive and interpret it?" Well, the piece of paper itself does not define the art; rather, it depends on how we  perceive  it.  The Mona Lisa  by Leonardo da Vinci could be seen as nothing more than a piece of paper with multiple colors. Fundamentally, there is no difference between a drawing that a five-year-old scribbles on a wall and something Banksy paints on one. It’s the  meaning  and our  perception. T hey are what define art. "Then, if anything carries a deep meaning, can we call it art?" We often assume the ar...
Read more

"The longest story" by my parents

-
Image
 "Sad is the man who is asked for a story / and can’t come up with one." — Li-Young Lee, "A Story" We often forget that our parents were just like us before they became parents. Just as this is our first time living, it is their first time raising a child. We can't blame them for their mistakes, yet I did. As a child, I saw my parents as God-like figures. They created me, they held all the answers to my endless questions. My first emotions, my first love—I learned everything from them. But I never recognized the simple truth that they are human, just like me. They make mistakes. They feel emotions. And maybe, just like me, they struggle to express them. Perhaps they, too, are afraid—afraid of the future, of the day I no longer need them, of being left behind as they push me forward. Just like the father in "A Story," they might not always have the right words, the perfect answers, or the ability to show their fears. Yet, they continue to love and suppo...
Read more

Inherent meaning of the universe

-
                                            Transcript [Song Plays and Goes off] Host: You're listening to The Cosmic Hour. I'm your host, Robin, and today we have two very special guests joining us! The Universe and Human! Let's dive right into the debate. The question of the day! Is the universe inherently meaningful, or is it inherently meaningless? Universe, you can go first. Universe: Gladly. The universe is inherently meaningless. At the smallest scale, all objects are just composed of atoms governed by fundamental physical laws, as Charles de Quincey highlighted. These atoms have no purpose or meaning; they simply exist and follow the mechanics of nature. Take a rock and a human. The distinction between them is arbitrary and assigned by humans. In a quantum level, there is no difference between a rock and a human. Human: Well, I respectfully disagree. We, as humans, provi...
Read more