angeliki8

[angeliki8]

The Hard Yet Joyful College Goodbye

It was August 26, 1998, that is when it happened, the miracle. After years of trying to be able to conceive, Jessica was blessed with two twin girls, Sophie and Sarah. They were born in Barcelona, Spain at approximately 08:24am in the morning. They entered this world as part of the most loving family even with an absent father. Fast forward 18 years, it was not simply just another day for Sophie and Sarah, it was a day they had been waiting for their entire lives. It was a special yet terrifying, life-changing day. The two sisters, dressed in their new college sweatshirts surrounded by a sea of proud and caring faces. Each family member filled with a mixture of pride and sadness, their expressions revealing the internal conflict they were feeling. It was the time to say goodbye. Goodbye through FaceTime. Goodbye to their friends, their family, their five pet dogs and two pet rabbits. Their grandmother, who made sure to always prepare the most delicious home cooked meals they could ever possibly taste. Their grandpa, who would never fail to step in when they needed help with whatever it was - either redrawing Barbie characters from the Barbie movies that the twins made him watch together or if they needed a ride from school. He was always there. Present and Affectionate.

Most importantly, it was a terrifying day for their mother. Their single mother who made all the possible efforts to support her children, and get them to where they were on this day. She felt a sense of loss creeping in but she knew that she had done everything possible so they could be able to have the capabilities of going to a Canadian post-secondary school. She also was aware that Sophie and Sarah were so eager to embark on their next adventure of exploring the college life. She felt a sense of pride and joy, knowing that she had managed to raise two strong, independent women who were ready and responsible enough to take on this journey. Oh, but still she was unsure about how she was going to deal with this change. Her twin daughters meant the world to her, it was always the three of them - no father involved. He was a selfish human, never putting his daughters before himself. Never even tried. The origin of the tragedy of the divorce originated within such complicated events, not worth being repeated.

Sophie and Sarah were sitting at the open space punctuated by rows of black seats at their airport gate, awaiting for their flight to Canada to departure. Canada, a place they had never thought was of reach. A place they never thought they would be at. What seemed like a dream was now reality. The smell of stale coffee and food intertwined with the scent of disinfectant that everyone tends to use especially since the beginning of the pandemic was prevalent.

The realization that it was time came into the twins' minds again. This reminder was heart wrenching but it was indeed time. Time for the goodbye. As terrifying as it was, this day symbolized so much more. It symbolized all the good and all the efforts that were all worth it in the end. Sophie and Sarah got the chance to continue their education, halfway across the world. They had the most beautiful, heart-warming upbringing filled with love and care. What else would anyone desire? However the sisters were also considering some negatives. What if they don't make their family as proud as they want to? What if the pressure to pay them back for everything becomes too challenging? But they could not stop looking at their phone; the grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins all had tears in their eyes. Tears of joy. You could tell from the phone screen. Tears of joy to be actually able to observe the grown up twin girls at the airport ready to take on the world. Waiting...Waiting for the gate to open for departure. That’s what technology gives us. The ability to live these moments even when we are not sitting in the same crowded space. This is its beauty. A rush of guilt would get to the sisters sometimes for leaving their family...but they discovered that leaving home doesn't mean leaving behind the people who matter most. A truly caring family will always be there to support, love and take care of you, no matter where you choose to embark on new adventures. That's the beauty.

[angeliki8]

The Arranged FaceTime (Proposals)

The life-changing decision of choosing your partner, the person that you will share the rest of your life with. How are people even able to make such a critical decision? They must really feel the extreme pressure and their hearts must race. What about those who are never able to find that special someone? Rachel’s parents gave her a three month deadline to find a man or else she would be forced into an arranged marriage with the man that she dreaded, - the one and only, Chad from back home. Thus, Rachel decided to explore her other three options and her parents agreed. 

The other three men - Brad, Brett, and Blake had shown intense interest in winning Rachel’s heart over. They finally gain the opportunity to attempt to accomplish this through a FaceTime call arranged including Rachel, Rachel’s mother, Rachel’s father, Brad, Brett, and Blake. It was finally time and flickering images of the three potential matchmakers appeared on Rachel's screen. Brad’s overachieving confidence, his expensive blue Tom Ford suit that had to be dry cleaned due to a situation that is better remained unsaid and his well-groomed blonde hair made Rachel drawn to him during the call. Brad took a big breath of courage and started elaborating on why he would make an excellent partner. He talked about his love for his big, beautiful farm in the countryside that he inherited - along with the 2 horses, 6 pigs, 8 cows and 4 sheep that were gifted to him by his fellow relatives. His favorite horse would always be Steve even if he would not admit it but that is besides the point. Rachel was in shock, she could not believe that Brad was a farmer who spent his entire life milking cows everyday and was excited to share that with Rachel. As sweet as his intentions were, Rachel feared that she would not fit into that life. Then there was Brett, the FaceTime call was benefiting him...well...at least up until he mentioned something about his Nan being extremely joyful to the potential of Rachel moving in with them. That pretty much ruined any chance he had. Then there was Blake. Oh, sweet Blake. He was the one with the extreme humorous side to him. His strategy to make Rachel fall in love with him mainly consisted of just one thing - jokes. Luck was unfortunately not with him as the FaceTime call kept getting cut off right when he was about to tell the punchline which truth be told was probably not that funny in the first place. The FaceTime call cutting off made it ten times worse as sometimes Rachel’s parents were unsure of whether he was legitimately attempting to make some kind of discriminatory jokes or whether they just kept misinterpreting him and it was the internet connection that should have been blamed instead.

Only a few seconds passed since the ending of the FaceTime call but that was the little time Rachel needed to have this staggering realization. She should not accept and leave her fate up to her loving. but severely controlling parents. She is an independent 21 year old woman that should be able to take her life into her own hands. She wondered, why do I even need to get married? What if I want to focus and cherish other great gifts of life. She continued contemplating as she was sitting in her red, wooden chair in her bedroom. Life is about so much more after all. Even though she certainly did not want to disappoint her parents or go against them, she realized that sometimes one has to be selfish, one has to choose themselves above those around them. Life is all about these hard decisions and what you prioritize.

[angeliki8]

What Technology Allows

The date is 08 April, 2057. Jennifer had just moved into her new house; it was a massive house with a beautifully designed living room with expensive furniture. The walls were decorated with exquisite wallpaper, and large windows that offered expansive views of the city skyline. The floors were polished marble. To be able to afford these comforts for her, her three sons, and her husband, Erik, she had to put in a lot of work and have a very successful profession as a real estate lawyer.

She had access to immense technologies that would be too expensive for the average citizen. 34 years later, the ChatGPT technology that was known in 2023 had excelled more than anybody could have imagined and had a lot more capabilities. Jennifer was not completely educated with the science behind its new version but she had heard that something called deepfake media had now been intertwined with such AI technology, making it have the ability to play a live reenactment of anyone, even a relative that had passed away within FaceTime calls. It felt so real that people would mistake it for a dream.

Jennifer wanted to try it out. She grew up by having an extremely close and adoring relationship with her family, especially her grandmother. She unfortunately passed away 12 years prior due to health complications at the hospital. It was the hardest, most challenging day Jennifer had ever had to go through and until this day she refuses to reminisce about the intensity and negativity she felt for years after the moment her passing was announced. She would have given anything in that moment to have a few more minutes with her. A few more minutes so she could apologize for not spending enough time with her, to tell her how guilty she felt and how she wishes she could have been able to do more to help her.

This technology could give her that opportunity to be able to get off her chest everything she has been wanting to. Nonetheless, there is still one serious question that remains unanswered. If it is a technology, then it is not really her grandmother so is it the same type of satisfaction she would have received if she was somehow able to contact her grandmother, her live grandmother. Jennifer's contemplation remained, should she try it out or not?

She picks up the weird looking yet simple device. She struggles to understand it first. One could tell from the way she tilted her head and squinted her eyes; her wrinkled forehead and blank look on her face. The jarring instructions were displayed. It read as follows: Users are able to submit photographs of the individual which they would like to contact and have a FaceTime call with. Additional information such as the individuals' full name, birthday and SIN number would also be helpful for our technology. Jennifer was hit by an anxiousness she had never felt before, what was awaiting for her once she made the decision to utilize this jarring device. She hadn't heard the voice in a while, Grandma Janes' voice.

So the question remains: Will Jennifer ever find the courage to indeed engage in such a FaceTime call or will it hunt her forever?