“Reflections from the trunk of my car, before work: Is life just a social experiment we never signed up for? Thoughts on change, rebellion, and small comforts.”
— The Stratagem’s Archives
P.S:This post was originally shared with my (newsletter) subscribers first.
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Welcome — However You Found Your Way Here
Is Life One Huge Social Experiment We Didn’t Know We Consented To?
I’ve been sitting with a question lately — the kind that shows up uninvited when the world goes quiet.
Does being alive — and being human — feel like a massive social experiment no one remembers signing up for?
Because, to me, sometimes it does.
Like every day, we’re thrown into a loop of expectations, roles, metrics, and mantras.
“Go with the flow.”
“Stay positive.”
“Work hard. It’ll pay off.”
But… what if none of this is flowing? What if we’re all silently breaking under the same pressure but pretending it’s fine because we think it’s just us?
We have the opportunity to experiment every day — with our choices, ideas, preferences, energy, moods, hopes, the topics we write about and how, with anything really. Maybe not with as much leeway or legroom as we’d like.
Believe me, I’ve been sleeping curled up in my car for 2 years now and finally decided to try something new.
However, rarely do we change what matters. We tend to stick to habits, even when they no longer help us in any way, because they are familiar. We don’t always shift the experiment to our liking and, while not always on purpose, I’m convinced that everyone is the control group of this experiment.
If we don’t try something even slightly different, then we wonder why the results we get are never changing.
A Small Personal Experiment
Before my shift today, I tried something different — not profound, just practical. I brought my iPad with me to work on my blog more, I’ve stayed up longer than normal where I’d usually be napping, then I laid down in the trunk of my car with my legs stretched into the main body of the vehicle.
It’s not poetic. My trunk is full of junk. I’ll probably hit my head when I sit up.
But this was more comfortable than curling up in the back seat or sleeping with my legs towards the trunk instead.
Plus, this was more private too.
And, for a brief moment, it felt like I had control over one small part of my day. Like I had outsmarted the discomfort in a world that tells me to just deal with it.
I don’t want to keep “dealing with it.”
That tiny act of rebellion — of laying differently, of doing what worked better for me — reminded me:
Even when we don’t control the experiment, we can still change how we respond to it.
If You’re Reading This…
You don’t have to sleep in your car trunk to know what I’m talking about.
If you’ve ever asked yourself:
- Why does life feel like a loop I didn’t choose?
- Why am I so tired of trying to “stay positive” when nothing’s changing?
- What small thing can I try today to feel a little more like a person instead of a cog?
Then you’re already running your own experiment. You’re already adapting and resisting in quiet ways.
Want More Like This?
This post started as part of my newsletter, where I share things that don’t always make it to my blog — the stranger thoughts, the in-between reflections, and the moments written in silence before work.
If that sounds like something you’d want more of, then I’d like to invite you to click subscribe wherever you see the button.
No pressure, no spam. Just one fellow archivist sending notes to another.
Some Reflections to Consider
If life is a social experiment — what kind of subject would you want to be?
Someone who repeats the patterns they were handed?
Or someone who quietly tweaks the design, even if no one’s watching?
You don’t have to comment.
You don’t have to share.
But it does help other people find this space; I’m slowly building from the ground up and make it a space for the weary, angry, wondering, and wandering souls out there.
Final Thoughts
“Maybe life is a social experiment going insane, but that doesn’t mean I have to go insane too.”
Thanks for reading,
— The Stratagem’s Archive
