Hear me out: has there ever been a time when the perception of gratitude exceeded the significance it's supposed to have?
Rows of people applaud in unison, yet the silence that follows is rarely noticed. How does one decide that it's the right time to stop applauding, or what keeps someone from going the distance and doing a little more than everyone else? I believe that deep inside, we all know when it's time to stop the accolade. It's just that we feel our actions are not justified enough, because the one next to us might not feel the same. But sometimes it doesn't matter, because while we are trying to figure out how much is too much, the presenter always fears the silence before and after the applause.
When the applause stops, people like me pick up their pens and start to write, because it's in those moments of silence that the events that have passed and the ones yet to happen are bridged into an essay: an effort to witness the sense of unity in disunity. That's what we call life!