When Stars Misguide Us

A Series Of Being Misunderstood

September 20, 2025

A new idea I have on what to write about. Times and moments of misunderstandings I have had in my life. Is there anything to learn from it or is life full of random events with no meaning?

Photo taken by Author’s Wife

Entry #1

A series of being misunderstood

I am a misunderstood individual. I have realized that I do it to myself.

I am a walking contradiction and have mixed beliefs and views on almost everything.

I am a thinker, so therefore nothing is concrete, no idea, concept, or belief, but I do have my own beliefs. I understand that everyone is living different lives and we all are complex individuals with changing emotions and thoughts.

How can any of us be right? How can any of us be wrong? At the end of the day, who cares?

Try to search for what is meaningful to you but don’t hold on to it too closely.

Question it. Research it. Learn other positions that might be opposite of what you believe in because it will either help you understand your stance more deeply or it might open your mind to a new belief.

I don’t get mad if someone has a different belief than me. I am only curious about why and how they believe in it.

I don’t think that I am right, or wrong; I only think that I am a human being who is changing everyday. We all no matter what are growing either in a negative or positive way.

I Try To Be A Good Citizen

I want to share stories with you about moments in my life where I have been completely misunderstood.

Where I have been hurt, or put down for no reason.

From childhood stories, high school stories, and even now as a grown man people completely misunderstand me.

I try to trust in humanity, and I try to be civilized and polite, but somehow I always end up being misguided. I understand that in life we all will go through some kind of misunderstanding with people, but it happens to me a little more often, and people are a little more rude towards me.

I am an outgoing and happy person. No matter who you are or where I am at I will look into people’s eyes and say hi to them, and if they want to we can have a conversation.

I am an open person as well as my family. Even my 16-month-old daughter looks at people in the eyes and says Hi!

Disney World Gets Crazy Sometimes

It might sound like I am over exaggerating or whining but if you keep up with my writings you will see that I have been involved in strange situations with strangers and family members.

Some examples would be at Disney with my two little brothers one of them seven, the other was thirteen, and my wife who was my girlfriend at the time was sixteen. I was seventeen and we all were on the monorail at Disney World.

We were heading back home. Me, my brothers, and my girlfriend (who is my wife now) were talking about the day we had and smiling and laughing with each other.

An older woman with two little girls sitting beside her tapped in on my lower back (I was standing) and I looked back at her and she looked angry and told me “You all need to stop laughing at my children”.

I couldn’t believe what she said. I said, “I am sorry but there is a misunderstanding, I didn’t even see you or your children behind me, and I am laughing with my family”.

Then her husband from across the monorail yells at me and says “Is there a problem that I have to fix” he was saying it aggressively at me.

The wife says “It’s okay” and I say “Your wife thinks I am laughing at them but I am laughing with my family and it is a misunderstanding”.

This grown man stood up and yelled at me “Shut up!”

I said, “I do not have to shut up because I am an American and I have the freedom to speak”.

This comment made him angry, he began to yell more and use curse words at me.

Then he looked at his friend (both of them had their children’s strollers in their hands) and said looks like we have to teach him a lesson.

I say “Go ahead, I am not scared of either of you”.

The monorail door opens and I tell my little brothers and girlfriend to leave first because I didn’t want anything to happen to them.

They leave and as we are exiting the monorail the two grown men try to hit me with their children’s strollers.

Luckily the park was crowded and we all got scattered in the crowd.

I couldn’t see them and I guess they weren’t looking for me. So I headed toward the main entrance and my brothers and girlfriend were there waiting for me. I told them “Everything is okay, let’s go home”.

I was only seventeen years old; having a good time with my family and girlfriend.

We all were season pass holders and would go to disney world all the time.

This was a strange event that I still think about ten years later because what did I do?

Is it the way that I look or act? Or was it that this family had a long stressful day and wanted to take it out on someone?

Well, this is not my only story like this; I have plenty of more that I will be writing about.

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Email: Whenstarsmisguideus@yahoo.com

Stars Misguide Music: Spotify | Youtube

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Cycling Through Trees

September 13, 2025

A rainy bicycle ride in a forest full of trees turns into thoughts that lead me to my love.

Pedal Forward

I am riding my bike fast through a forest.

There are coast redwood trees high above me. Each second the trees past me as I pedal forward.

I do not look back because this is a difficult trail to ride. I need to focus on what is ahead. There are dark clouds above me, and I am starting to feel raindrops on my head.

I keep moving faster, and the faster I go the more I zone out.

My mind goes to a different place. I feel as if I am looking at myself from above, watching myself riding my bike through the woods in the rain.

I love the smell of damp leaves and I love seeing the raindrops fall ever so slowly off the leaves.

What does all this mean? Our existence, what does it mean?

Why are there so many distractions?

I am doing too much lately. I need to focus on one thing, on one book, on one concept.

Stop trying to figure out everything all at once, take a step back, and pick one thing to work on or at least a few things. I analyze myself and feel like I haven’t done anything. I haven’t learned anything.

I made it out of the forest, and now I am on an empty street.

Image Created in Canva AI by Author

Alone

The road is wet, the sky is dark, and there is a forest full of trees on both sides of me as I ride on this uninhabited road. I feel hollow inside. Are we all truly alone?

I need to be more positive.

These magnificent trees, are so old and know so much. They benefit the earth so greatly. I always get humbled whenever I am around them. The secrets they hold of times past.

It’s all connected; the past, present, and future.

I wonder who my ancestors were, would they like who I am? Sometimes I think that they are with me. I know that sounds strange, but all their genetics are within me somehow. Right?

All the decisions they made led up to me, and my life. Are my life choices somehow connected to them?

The seasons may change, and the leaves may fall, but we will always be the same tree standing tall.

I make this poem up in my head and when I get home I will write it down in my journal.

I am almost home.

My Love, You Are My Home

My home is wherever my love is; my wife is my love, she is my home.

I see the lights on in our house and I am heading over there quickly.

I begin to feel butterflies in my soul, and I have flashbacks of our youthful years in high school where I would chase her around with my heart on my sleeve, she knew she captured me, but she wanted to be chased because she wanted to know for sure how deep my love was for her. She needed to trust me, and I showed she could trust me.

She can trust me with forever.

Me and my wife were always connected, and we always have felt it.

song created by Author. Here is a song I made that influenced this article.

This was a short fiction story mixed with some facts. Thank you for reading.

Social Links:

Website: Whenstarsmisguideus.com

Email: Whenstarsmisguideus@yahoo.com

Stars Misguide Music: Spotify | Youtube

Instagram: @WhenStarsMisguideUs

© All content published on When Stars Misguide Us, including but not limited to text, images, and multimedia, is the intellectual property of When Stars Misguide Us and is protected by copyright laws.
Question My Youth As A Youth

August 29, 2025

Walking down a dark road alone with my skateboard in my left hand and my heart on my sleeves.

Image Created in Canva AI by Author

It’s 10:30 pm, I am sixteen and it’s a Sunday night.

I like going out and skating at night because I feel so vulnerable and sometimes scared.

I live in suburbia mixed with country backroads and land.

As I skateboard I see subrubian copy-paste homes, empathy streets, light traffic roads, sounds of frogs, and the feeling of stillness.

I am walking on a dark street, no cars are present, only me and my thoughts.

I think to myself “What is the meaning of my existence?”, “What is the point of my actions?”, “Do my life choices even matter, do they truly affect my future?”.

I knew I was in high school and I felt my youth. I would contemplate in my mind “How do I still act young and at the same time make the right choices for my future.”

No one understood me. I was a “popular” kid, played sports, got good grades, and had tons of friends, most girls wanted to date me, listen to different music, play instruments, and so on.

Sometimes when you are too well-rounded it makes you an outcast.

I was a strange outcast because I was liked by everyone but no one related to me.

I never acted like a celebrity and I never followed any culture. I always act like me. I’m not sure if that makes sense.

I sound so stupid and childish I think to myself. I am feeling moody tonight.

I am sick of thinking in my head so I drop my plan B skateboard that has a sticker of a panda on the bottom of it and I put in my headphones and shuffle a playlist on my iPod nano.

I always listen to weird, soft music that people think is lame. I don’t care because it speaks to me.

Music always helps cure my soul when it is feeling a bit sick.

The song that randomly plays is a song called Plans by an artist named Plug In Stereo. One of the lyrics that hits me is:

Our plans keep on changing as we’re growing older

This kind of music and lyrics truly inspired me to create my own music as a young kid who felt lost and different. The positive and deep lyrics, soft guitar playing, and questioning youth.

I would show these kinds of songs to my friends, and even my songs to them but they would say it is soft and say that I am not a man because I sang about love, and how beautiful souls are when you are in love with someone’s.

Image created and taken by the author why he was skateboarding when he was 16 years old for his music EP

Here is one of the songs that I made when I was 16 for this EP called “I Remember”.

I better get home before I get in trouble I say to myself.

Then I look up to the starry sky and wonder about my beautiful girlfriend. I want to give her the world.

I kick and push my way back to the suburban neighborhood that holds so many memories in it, back to that house where my family is, and where so many memories were created.

As I skate I grow tired and feel lost, but I enjoy the feeling because it means I am alive.

Social Links:

Website: Whenstarsmisguideus.com

Email: Whenstarsmisguideus@yahoo.com

Stars Misguide Music: Spotify | Youtube

Instagram: @WhenStarsMisguideUs

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Do The Buildings We See Daily Affect Our Lives In Any Way

August 20, 2025

I saw a church in Savannah and it made me question how our society is building structures. Why are our souls disconnected from buildings in our modern world?

How do old buildings make you feel?

Old buildings make me feel that there is hope in the world, and in existing. It gives me feelings of warmth and makes me feel content.

It reminds me that not everything in the past will disappear, some things will last.

Looking at old structures stimulates my mind and gives me joy looking at the craftsmanship. I love exploring towns, and cities for old buildings.

There is something sacred about old buildings.

I only like traveling to places with history and historical buildings.

I believe that a town, or city without old buildings in them is soulless and incomplete.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist Savannah, Georgia

When I look at a brand new modern apartment complex my heart feels nothing, and my eyes can care less about the look of it. I walk or drive right past these ordinary-looking buildings.

On the other hand, when I see an old building with its history showing on the interior and exterior of the building, my heart begins to flutter, and my mind starts to wander.

I think about the past and the society that was before us, and not only does it stimulate my brain, but it is also interesting to look at.

For example, take a look at this marvelous 19th-century building in Savannah GA.

Photo taken by Author’s Wife

I had the honor to visit this church in Savannah and I also went inside the building

Photo taken by Author

I was in awe of the beauty and details of the interior. I learned that the cathedral’s interior, including its original altars and artwork, were destroyed in a fire in 1898 (what caused the fire is not known) and was later rebuilt and it was rededicated in 1900.

When I look at the beauty of this church inside and out; it makes me think. How come no one wants to put the money and work into buildings anymore?

Is it because of the cost, time, and functionality? Are you telling me no wealthy person or organization wants to spend the time or money on a beautiful project that will last for generations?

People from around the USA and the world visit this church every year to stand before the beauty and craftsmanship, and no one has the time or money to create anything like this structure anymore?

How come in the past centuries there were buildings, created by skilled craftsmen, that were made for the public, made for the average citizen to look at and be amazed by daily?

In our society, we have buildings that have glass windows hovering over us to remind us that we have to go to work tomorrow, or we have soulless apartment buildings on their own empty lots with no food or stores around them and that no one can afford to live in unless that have roommates or two jobs.

Our modern societies’ buildings are bland and our community layouts are only built for cars to drive on. They are not built for humans to wander in.

There are so many regulations to build anything interesting, everything has to meet a code that is understandable for safety but sometimes I question these codes and wonder why can’t we make an exception for one building to look outstanding.

Apartment buildings and buildings in Miami, FL photo taken by author

Apartment buildings and buildings in Boston, MA photo taken by author

Which apartment building is more appealing to your eyes? To your soul? What kind of building structures do you enjoy looking at? Feel free to comment, I always love hearing people’s opinions and enjoy hearing thoughts that are different than my thoughts. Thank you for reading.

Social Links:

Website: Whenstarsmisguideus.com

Email: Whenstarsmisguideus@yahoo.com

Stars Misguide Music: Spotify | Youtube

Instagram: @WhenStarsMisguideUs

© All content published on When Stars Misguide Us, including but not limited to text, images, and multimedia, is the intellectual property of When Stars Misguide Us and is protected by copyright laws.
Searching For The Moon With My World In My Arms

August 12, 2025

Every night me and my family go outside to look for the moon and stars; it is a new family tradition that brings wonder to my soul.

Image Created in Canva AI by Author

Oh, the ever-fleeting lives we live. Every day is the next stage. Each moment passes us by like shooting stars in the dark sky.

I wonder to myself how can this be true? I feel butterflies flying all around in my stomach as I stand holding my baby girl in my arms.

We are looking at the moon together in the front of our house. The neighborhood is quiet and empty and it is only me and her on this search for the moon.

She is only 15 months and she loves the moon, and she calls out “moon! moon!” as we are standing outside looking up and pointing at the glowing moon.

I am smiling ear to ear because she is too cute and wonderful. She looks at me with a serious face, gives me eye contact, and says “Moon!” loudly.

I say “Yes, that is the moon. Isn’t it so nice?”. She answers back and says “Mhm” nodding her head in an up-and-down motion.

As we observe the moon I can’t help but have waves of emotions inside my soul crashing all around.

This is a special moment that will forever be ours. I look at my baby and think to myself; you are my purpose.

So much love I have for you, but one day we will no longer exist, and this does not make me sad; instead, it makes me love this moment and life even more.

“Some things are more precious because they don’t last long.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Only Thing Society Can’t Control Is The Relationships We Have With One Another.

We are all unique and our own lives we live are truly beautiful in many ways.

The simple moments with their mysteriousness are what being alive is about.

We are not here to give companies our data, and screentime. We are not here to make the company we work for more money.

We are here to delve into the mystery, to wonder about the stars in the night sky, to hold on tight to the ones we love.

At the end of the day, the only thing society can’t control is the relationships we have with one another.

Society greatly influences and controls us, but one aspect it cannot fully dictate is interpersonal relationships between people. Whether it is family relationships, romantic relationships, or friendships they cannot dictate or regulate the quality or nature of the connections we form with others.

Social Links:

Website: Whenstarsmisguideus.com

Email: Whenstarsmisguideus@yahoo.com

Stars Misguide Music: Spotify | Youtube

Instagram: @WhenStarsMisguideUs

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It’s Easy To Have Friends, But It’s Hard To Keep Them

July 26, 2025

I am a curious person searching for truth within conversations because the truth is hidden in words, but it tends to leave me with not many friends.

Image Created in Canva AI by Author

I tend to talk with confidence and look people in the eyes when they are speaking to me. I am 100 percent focused on what people have to say to me, and I listen intently.

We can learn so much about ourselves and the world from listening to people talk. No matter who they are I try to learn something from every conversation I have with everyone I talk to.

On a side note, I have had thousands of friends in my life because I am a sociable person, and I also have a big family that introduces me to their friends. Also, I am not afraid to talk to strangers, I actually enjoy it.

Once I have multiple conversations with someone they usually begin to ask me questions and want to know more about who I am and my life because I usually don’t discuss my life only if someone asks me.

Most of the conversation is me listening to the speaker and trying to get to know them and understand their life.

Once I start discussing my life people tend to get rubbed the wrong way.

Why you ask?

Because I love living, and I love the life that I am creating. I have a circle of family and friends that I love and care for and I know they love and care for me.

Yes, I have struggles and stress like everyone else on this planet but all in all, I am content and happy about my life.

I am determined to keep growing as an individual. I want to become the best version of myself.

I am confident in my words but at the same time, I am questioning the words I speak.

I do not believe wholeheartedly in the concepts that I believe in and I know that they can change as I grow old, and some concepts I will believe in for the rest of my life but it does not mean that they are true or that I am right.

I do not even know what is fundamentally right or wrong. Life is too complex for me to ever have an answer to that.

I openly express these concepts to people and they tend to get annoyed with me and sooner or later try to hurt me with words.

Not everyone does this but the majority of people I’ve encountered (all backgrounds, and ages) at some point said hurtful things to me. I believe it is because they are confused about how someone can believe in something but be okay knowing that they might not be right about it, but still have beliefs and morals.

An example would be when I met two twin sisters in my developmental psychology class. I got to know them, and they enjoyed talking to me. I invited them out to Disney Springs with me and my wife and we had a good time, we talked and hung out for 2 semesters, then the third semester they wanted to get to know me more, so they began to ask questions.

They told me I didn’t like music and I didn’t know anything about music and I told them music is my passion and I can play guitar, bass, piano, and I create my own songs using digital software, and that I also have music released on Spotify. They were in shock because they thought they knew me but they didn’t. So they assumed.

Long story short the friendship ended because they kept putting me down saying mean comments about false accusations about my life. It started to get strange, I believe that my sophistication and not revealing my life all at once made them second guess themselves.

Another example would be in college I made a friend, and we were friends for two years and we would talk about complex concepts with each other.

One night we were talking about ghosts and scary movies and she said she didn’t believe in ghosts and I said that’s strange that you don’t believe in ghosts but you believe in spirits.

She looked at me angrily and was offended.

I said what is wrong?

She said that I wasn’t a good Christian and said I didn’t pray.

I was confused. I told her I believe in God or a higher being but what does that have to do with anything?

Somehow a simple light question about ghosts and spirits ended our friendship.

To this day I am genuinely confused about how you can believe in spirits but not ghosts. Aren’t they the same thing in a way?

I am a curious person and sometimes my curiosity leads to confusion for the person I am talking to and then it turns into a ended relationship, but I honestly can’t and won’t stop being curious because that’s who I am.

One day I will find like-minded people (besides my wife and family) who are as curious as me and won’t get easily offended by concepts.

See I never like putting people down, hurting anyone’s feelings, talking about drama or life issues, or talking about nonsensical things.

I only like understanding people’s beliefs, lives, and perspectives on concepts that relate to our existence.

I have had many of these strange encounters with people. I try my best to be understanding and to get to know them.

I even discuss things about myself and make jokes, but somehow the more people get to know me and the different sides of my life and perspectives of life it seems to only make things more messy.

I understand to have friends you must share stories of misery with one another, but in my perspective, we can learn from that misery and speak in a positive way, in an actionable way where we can take action and slowly fix it besides sulking in it.

I also understand that some things in life can’t be fixed, but we must keep on living.

I was never the type of person to pause my life for any reason and trust me I have had traumatic events happen in my life, but we must keep on going and living.

Trust in yourself, and try to find a group of people that love you and you love.

Maybe all this is in my head, or maybe I am onto something, or maybe I am only ranting. Maybe I need to not push people to think when talking and only do it to people who can handle it, but sadly I can’t do that because deep down inside me there is a burning desire to make people think.

Social Links:

Website: Whenstarsmisguideus.com

Email: Whenstarsmisguideus@yahoo.com

Stars Misguide Music: Spotify | Youtube

Instagram: @WhenStarsMisguideUs

© All content published on When Stars Misguide Us, including but not limited to text, images, and multimedia, is the intellectual property of When Stars Misguide Us and is protected by copyright laws.
What Is The Present Without You?

July 21, 2025

Without these moments of human interaction, what do we truly have? You are important to this world.

Image Created in Canva AI by Author

“Whispering ghost softly speaking to my heart”

I jot this sentence down quickly in my small pocket journal. I read it three times in a row, trying to understand the meaning of it.

Maybe we aren’t alone. Maybe our ancestors are here with us.

Are we supposed to listen to them, or are they trying to misguide us?

I close my journal and gently put it back in my front right pocket, along with a small black pen. I keep on walking at a gentle pace.

I am at a park with trees to the left and right of me. I stare at the green leaves and it makes me wonder if we all are leaves, floating in the air holding on tight, and the moment we fall off and gently float to the ground is when we will rot and disappear into the air, into the universe.

Nature humbles me and that is why I spend time in it, and that is why I take my family with me.

I am alone on this walk, and as people pass me by I am looking into their eyes. One by one I smile and wave, some people look and smile, but most do not look.

People always seem busy, but why? This is it. This is the most important career that you will ever have. Living.

I tend to overthink and I get lost in my thoughts. Snap out of it! I say to myself out loud. I take a deep breath in and exhale. I love breathing in that clean air.

Is the air really that clean? There I go again. Even though I look like I have nowhere to be and I am acting relaxed, and pondering away, I actually have to be somewhere important.

This important place that I have to be at is a place called “Falling Into Pumpkins”

It’s a silly name, but it is an annual festival our community does that takes place every year in the month of September and gets everyone prepped for October’s Halloween.

I am the person setting up the stage for live music performances and I am also the one who has to find the right musicians to create the pre-halloween mood.

I make a right on this sidewalk in the park and cross over a beautiful small wooden bridge, and underneath me, sparkling clear water is passing.

I love the sound of moving water.

I am almost at the festival, and I can see people setting up tents.

I think to myself “Nothing lasts forever, I know this, and it saddens me at times, but it also is the reason why I love so deeply.”

This is a short fiction writing. Thank you for reading. I appreciate you.

This is an addition to my first and second short fiction stories.

Social Links:

Website: Whenstarsmisguideus.com

Email: Whenstarsmisguideus@yahoo.com

Stars Misguide Music: Spotify | Youtube

Instagram: @WhenStarsMisguideUs

© All content published on When Stars Misguide Us, including but not limited to text, images, and multimedia, is the intellectual property of When Stars Misguide Us and is protected by copyright laws.
When I Look Into Someone’s Eyes I Can See Their Soul. It’s A Scary, Amazing Concept: The Soul.

July 5, 2025

Standing in a crowd, emotions overwhelm me, we all are lost in our own kind of way. So many people hate themselves, and I ask why. You are a beautiful piece of art, one of a kind, don’t feel left behind, because there is no finish line.

Image Created in Canva AI by Author

Music is blasting and people are singing lyrics to their favorite song as loud as they can. The music and the screaming fans combined create a unique atmosphere that is like nothing else. As I stand in the sea full of souls I begin to feel humbled. Look at all these people with different lives and paths.

I begin to look at everyone around me jumping and dancing and I am in the middle of the ocean of people. I am also yelling and jumping up and down with neon lights flickering everywhere. We all are traveling this vast sea of stars.

In that special moment, time is frozen. This moment can never be replaced or duplicated. What are moments truly?

I begin to feel a wave of emotions and as I am in the middle of all the excitement I begin to reflect in my mind.

“Everything will. Be okay, don’t be so hard on yourself and others. This life disappears in a blink of an eye. Try to create moments that last. Love with all you have, especially the ones who love you with all they have.”

The music cuts off and the lights go out. Then another artist comes on stage and the lights are back on and the crowd goes wild. People pushing and shoving while smiling from ear to ear.

Finding joy in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar faces feels so human to me.

Each individual has their own struggles, accomplishments, and stories. We all are books walking around. We all are stars glowing in the night from a time that has passed and will never return, but we still will last somewhere in this universe.

Social Links:

Website: Whenstarsmisguideus.com

Email: Whenstarsmisguideus@yahoo.com

Stars Misguide Music: Spotify | Youtube

Instagram: @WhenStarsMisguideUs

© All content published on When Stars Misguide Us, including but not limited to text, images, and multimedia, is the intellectual property of When Stars Misguide Us and is protected by copyright laws.
When do you give up on a friend?

June 30, 2025

Do you end a long friendship with someone because they are negative, and say negative things about you and your life for no reason, no matter how nice and understanding you are to them?

Image Created in Canva AI by Author

Does the past hold any value to the present?

I am at a crossroads on a particular concept of friendship.

If a friend says rude, and sometimes heartbreaking things about you, and others, but you know that they only say these things because they are hurt inside, do you abandon them?

If you have a friend since childhood and grew up together does that hold any value to the relationship now?

If that friend was mean to you for more years in your life than nice does that matter?

At the present moment, they are nicer than years prior but still say things that bother you to your soul, and make you feel negative energy when you see them.

I am confused.

The question that I can’t answer would be “Do you end a long friendship with someone because they are negative, and say negative things about you and your life for no reason, no matter how nice and understanding you are to them?

Or do you keep showing them empathy year after year, meeting after meeting, and take the soulful beating?

Example of Confusion:

Me: Discussed some hardships in my life for a brief moment because my friend was trying to make me sound like a bad person and didn’t know the facts of my life story so I had to clear it up.

I pour out my words, and as I am speaking I can’t help but see a big smile on his face full of happiness. Midway in my conversation I stop and ask why are you so happy to hear my difficulties in life?

Friend responds: I am just happy to see you open up to me.

Why does this bother me and why did it make me feel like he was happy to hear me have difficulty in my life?

I am not sure.

At The Expense of My Soul

I have never abandoned someone because of the words that they spoke to me. I try to be a good friend and stick with people until they no longer want to be my friend or life happens and our relationship fades away.

With this ongoing negative relationship, it makes me think, why go on? What value is this providing for me or my friend?

While loyalty and empathy are admirable qualities, they shouldn’t come at the expense of my soul.

I understand that people change and can change, but I also understand that some people do not.

Some people live their lives with a certain mindset that can’t be altered, and can only grow stronger in the direction that they have been heading.

My empathy towards this friend isn’t because I knew them for years but rather it is only on the individual and human level.

I feel and care genuinely about this person’s existence.

Even though this person brings their negativity around me, if I could be a little spark of light in their life then I will put up with the rude remarks.

If I am this person’s only true friend how can I abandon them?

Social Links:

Website: Whenstarsmisguideus.com

Email: Whenstarsmisguideus@yahoo.com

Stars Misguide Music: Spotify | Youtube

Instagram: @WhenStarsMisguideUs
Modern American City Planning Has Now Trapped Us In Our Homes, Cars, And Workplaces

June 18, 2025

Is social media our 3rd place?

Is There Anywhere Else To Go?

After going to the trails, parks, and nature, where else do we go? What are the other options? The mall, shopping plazas, or more outdoor activities?

I enjoy doing all these things with my family, but what I enjoy the most is meeting, watching, and being around people.

Where are the places (I live in a suburban city in the USA) where one can sit outside among cozy architecture and enjoy the comfort of strangers living their lives and socializing?

When I see European cities or movies with old American cities it fills my soul with wonder.

Me and my family are very social, and I tend to start conversations with strangers all of the time. I also smile and say hi to everyone I make eye contact with, and the truth is every positive human interaction makes me feel more enthusiastic and energized about life.

We are social beings, and I find that in our modern lives, we get trapped in a cycle of doing errands. If we aren’t doing errands we are working, and then we rush home and are alone in our suburbia.

I want to be where there are interesting styles of architecture new buildings among old buildings, and mixed in these buildings there is food, coffee shops, libraries, housing, etc.

I know it sounds like I am describing a city because I am. Not a mega city like NYC or Chicago, but a small city that unites all the suburban neighborhoods.

I am sure this concept is somewhere out there in the USA, but I honestly don’t know any. If you know any city that has this kind of concept please comment on what they are because it would be greatly appreciated.

“As Ray states in The Great Good Place, the nature of a third place is one in which the presence of a “regular” is always welcome, although never required. Membership is a simple, fluid process of frequent social contact, renewed each time by choice of the people involved. Eventually, social bonds develop through a type of informal intimacy. The important aspect of these relationships is that they occur outside of any commitment and exist solely in the realm of basic human respect. I ascribe huge importance to this one point because it is this one valuable kernel that is slipping away from our isolated modern world. I think that we all miss its presence and this affects us all in very slight, painful ways.”
― Ray Oldenburg, Celebrating the Third Place: Inspiring Stories About the “Great Good Places” at the Heart of Our Communities

Social Media Is Not Our Cities

Humans love watching people, and modern urban planning in America, they do not design a place for us to all gather and watch one another. There is no place where we can hang around for free and where it is safe for all ages.

We lost the exploration of life where you walk around and explore your town and meet new people.

It is interesting to me that what has replaced us watching people is social media. Besides watching people in a healthy way like being outdoors and looking at one another in their eyes and seeing their soul in real life we now are online.

We swipe and click to see other people talk, walk, and live. When in our entire human history we were always around each other watching what one another does in real time.

Modern American Society has now trapped us in our homes, cars, and workplaces with nowhere for us to go explore except nature trails, plazas, and restaurants. We need a 3rd place (1st, and 2nd are home and work) for us to roam and meet new people freely and organically the way it has been done for centuries.

Image Created in Canva AI by Author

Questions:

Am I being dramatic? Are the majority of American cities built to keep us in our homes, cars, and workplaces or is this how life is supposed to be and I am overthinking it?

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