Braaains...

A friend of mine from home is a big fan of zombies. He likes to make plans for zombie apocalypses, plays zombie videogames, and compose stories in his head about being alone in a world of the undead. His enthusiasm is infectious (a bit like a zombie virus), and so sometimes that becomes a topic of discussion when we talk. The other day, we discussed some of the major conflicts that stories can have (ah, how intellectual of us), and came upon individualism versus collectivism. He made the observation that he leaned toward individualism, and that the idea of being alone is why he likes zombie stories. I realized, presently, that my own fascination with zombies was quite the opposite—the zombies themselves, which comprise a collective. They all share a purpose and form a community of shambling brain-eaters.

I have always enjoyed being alone, and have plans to spend my summers living in the comparative isolation of a campground when I’m back from my mission. It struck me that I want to do that not in order to be isolated, but rather because of the sense of community that naturally arises when people are isolated together.

In other zombie-related news, one of my professors recently mentioned that he had found something called “zombie haiku.” I looked it up, and discovered something rather interesting. I shall close with one of the haikus:

You are very lucky

That I cannot remember

How to use doorknobs.

I could write about zombies for a long time, but this shall suffice.