After getting laid off from the federal government in March 2025, I started to have unintentional conversations with strangers. Not through online chatting, but face-to-face in real life.

It sounds like the silliest thought to connect with people without utilitarian intentions. It sounded even more absurd when it came from my mouth, as I was at the most difficult stage of my life when I needed help the most. But interestingly, I saw myself as a patient who received a notice of critical condition. If I only have a few months to live, how would I want to spend my life? Would I finally compromise my idealism to better fit into the world, or would I keep being myself and strike the world like a match to be burnt, curious to see how gorgeous this last moment of flame can become? The answer was obvious.

My previous job has set perfect “excuses” for me to talk to different people. It was during this time that I understood that introversion/extroversion is not a defining trait at all. Curiosity, sensitivity, and a genuine care for another individual are way more crucial. I view these as my well-preserved assets in a “battle” against the trends of chasing after profits, short attention span, migrating to the virtual world, and prioritizing numbers over people.

I always strive to see and understand people beneath the surface. The stories of each individual behind a common macro trend can be vastly different. To care for each other, all we need is to simply listen.

“Human After All” was born out of the exact desire to revive the joy of pure connections. In these “city exploration documentaries”, I tell the stories of my encounters with strangers and my subjective perceptions of our mutual existence, even for a few minutes. The process of writing and making the videos has largely helped me cope with the dark days during unemployment, let alone some friendships I’ve made unexpectedly. If you watch any of the episodes, I hope it creates the impulse in you to go out and talk to someone as well.

It’s all for the joy of intentionless, spontaneous, face-to-face connections.