Not Just A Name | Teen Ink

Not Just A Name

April 21, 2014
By MalaikaJ GOLD, Cloquet, Minnesota
MalaikaJ GOLD, Cloquet, Minnesota
19 articles 2 photos 127 comments

Favorite Quote:
I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions. - James Michener


I am real person,
writing this today.
I am not just a name,
typed up on a screen.
I am sitting at a desk
in a green and purple room,
looking at names
on a laptop screen.
I know they are real,
and I know they have feelings,
but all I can see are their names.

I argue and agree,
share all my philosophies.
But I cannot hear their voices,
and I cannot see their faces.
I try to picture them,
staring at my name.
They don't know all my joys
or the pains of yesterday.
I cannot share my life stories
or hear their memories,
but I feel as if we know each other
because of similarities.

We are names on a screen.

I wonder if they think of me as only virtual,
and I wonder if they know
that I am not just a name on a screen.


The author's comments:
I am in an online school and I spend a lot of time on Teen Ink. Everywhere there are just names. I wish I could actually get to know the people behind those strings of letters.

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This article has 11 comments.


MalaikaJ GOLD said...
on Apr. 2 2015 at 10:43 am
MalaikaJ GOLD, Cloquet, Minnesota
19 articles 2 photos 127 comments

Favorite Quote:
I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions. - James Michener

I'm glad you can relate. :)

on Apr. 1 2015 at 10:19 am
ABIGAIL.S PLATINUM, Trenton, Ohio
37 articles 3 photos 35 comments

Favorite Quote:
"only you can start a change you want"

This is totally how I feel when online writing or looking at other peoples things because we are all more than just names, we are real people in the world.

MalaikaJ GOLD said...
on Jan. 23 2015 at 12:09 pm
MalaikaJ GOLD, Cloquet, Minnesota
19 articles 2 photos 127 comments

Favorite Quote:
I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions. - James Michener

Thank you! :)

on Jan. 22 2015 at 4:36 pm
sarahcarp63 DIAMOND, Denver, Colorado
51 articles 2 photos 17 comments

Favorite Quote:
'The really important people in life have a way of coming back to you'
'Good enough isn't good enough'
'You don't have to be sick to get better'
'Come what may and love it'

This is so relatable and I think that this something that everyone needs to read because every person is valuable and unique and just because you are online doesn't mean you can tear someone to shreds with words. Very well put.

MalaikaJ GOLD said...
on Dec. 23 2014 at 12:56 pm
MalaikaJ GOLD, Cloquet, Minnesota
19 articles 2 photos 127 comments

Favorite Quote:
I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions. - James Michener

Thanks so much, I'm glad you can see the deep meaning.

on Dec. 22 2014 at 12:14 pm
ansem_unlimited PLATINUM, Frederick, Maryland
33 articles 0 photos 140 comments

Favorite Quote:
Thou may think of me as desired, to idolize or villanize me whichever you may choose. but gaze upon me and thou sall not see the husk of a man! for all my sins and all my bliss, i am anything but hollow
-Ansem_Unlimited

this is very insightful, I love it alot. there's all this deep thought in the things you do, it's just brimming with depth

MalaikaJ GOLD said...
on Aug. 8 2014 at 10:42 pm
MalaikaJ GOLD, Cloquet, Minnesota
19 articles 2 photos 127 comments

Favorite Quote:
I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions. - James Michener

I know, I feel like people think they can say whatever they want when they aren't face to face with the person.

on Aug. 7 2014 at 11:10 pm
___averylynn_____ SILVER, Waterford, Michigan
7 articles 0 photos 33 comments

Favorite Quote:
Look closely at the present you are constructing. It should look like the future you are dreaming. - Alice Walker.
What you wear is your billboard. So, what are you advertising?

I really enjoyed reading this.  When people are insensitive, I wonder if they know that we are human... we are all fighting our own battles. 

MalaikaJ GOLD said...
on Jun. 10 2014 at 7:24 pm
MalaikaJ GOLD, Cloquet, Minnesota
19 articles 2 photos 127 comments

Favorite Quote:
I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions. - James Michener

Thank you for the comment! Your view on my poem is interesting, almost the opposite of what I feel. I think it's important for people to know the real, offline you. But I love that you can relate to my poem and see something in it that I didn't even see. Thanks again!

on Jun. 9 2014 at 8:24 pm
malloryryan07 BRONZE, Brookwood, Alabama
1 article 0 photos 29 comments
I can relate to this so well. As a lifetyle blogger as well as an aspiring poet, I interact with other bloggers and writers often, and I can sometimes relate to them so well without ever having met them. I think online friends are really important because they don't know anything about you to judge. They accept and appreciate the you that you present. Great poem.

on May. 28 2014 at 10:22 am
WOWriting SILVER, Broadstairs, Other
5 articles 0 photos 266 comments
I really like this, to me it tells you that you can have a long conversation with someone on a screen and never really know who they are or really get to know them. It has a deep, heartfelt meaning behind it, even though it's written simply. The writing is a bit basic, but I don't think that takes anything away from the pure meaning of the poem (that sounded adulty) :) i really enjoyed reading this. Could u please check out my article 'goodnight' if u have the time? :)