Evan's Portfolio

The Other Side: Breakdown 

Introduction: 

The Hip-hop song, “The Other Side,” by YouTuber Fgteev carries deep themes and morals about appreciating and cherishing life. Originally released on March 21, 2018, the song was used to teach kids a valuable life lesson about gratitude and resilience. Almost instantly, it was met with widespread praise across platforms like YouTube and Spotify. It currently boasts a view count above twenty-four million, along with one-hundred-seventy-five thousand likes. Even now, the song is still widely listened to among fans and maintains an active comment section on YouTube. Even with its catchy rhythm and addictive beats, the lyrics are packed with meaningful metaphors that need to be unpacked.

Metaphor 1: The Grass Is Not Always Greener on The Other Side 

The first metaphor revolves around the envy or jealousy felt from someone else’s seemingly successful life. Featured in the chorus, the phrase, “They say the grass is always greener on the other side, but that’s a lie,” introduces the main idea of the song. In a literal sense, this phrase refers to the false perception that, though the vegetation across a fence may seem superior to one’s own surroundings, there will always be hidden elements of the garden. Things that are concealed, hidden beneath the surface. This could be the nutrient-deficient soil or hidden pests, which may have been impossible to see from across the fence. These parts of a garden tell a different story than what may have been surmised; they tell a story that one can only understand superficially.

Figuratively, this phrase represents the profound envy one might harbor for someone else’s life. The ‘green grass’ symbolizes the illusion of a perfect life, which covers the severe pain hidden beneath someone’s inscrutable facade. The word “always” strengthens this false belief by emphasizing the near-inescapable envy one might have for the prosperity of someone else; it suggests that a lavish or relaxed life is impossible to ignore. Understanding how to cherish one’s own life and avoid obsessing over others—especially when they might be going through concealed struggles—can help maintain not only a healthy mindset, but also a strong sense of self.  

Metaphor 2: There are no flowers without rain 

The song frequently returns to the idea of pain—physical and emotional—as a vital, inescapable sensation found prominently in seemingly successful situations. The song brings up the lyrics: “Either way, there will always be pain; there can’t be flowers without rain.” Literally, this phrase describes the necessary component for a plant to successfully grow: water. Without this natural resource, vegetation cannot sustain life and eventually dies.

In a figurative sense, this imagery represents how pain will always accompany moments of success or personal growth. The rain—chiefly associated with sadness—symbolizes moments of despair or despondency. Conversely, the flowers are associated with beauty and vigor, symbolizing precious moments of achievement. Without discomfort or compromises, reaching those dignified moments of exaltation is virtually impossible. This metaphor transforms pain into a gift. It transforms pain from something dreaded into something sought after for. It shows that discomfort does not inhibit one’s success, and that behind the underlying truth, it quietly paves the winding path to achievement. Being able to transform pain into a tool for growth is a difficult thing to get used to, but just like starting something new, one can never be sure of what success it may entail.

Metaphor 3: Your life is yours; you color the grass 

This metaphor strongly reinforces the song’s recurring themes of independence and freedom to shape one’s own future. The song contains the lyrics: “Your life is yours; you color the grass.” Speaking from a literal viewpoint, this imagery describes the freedom to shape one’s own vegetation. Gardening requires persistent effort and care. If someone is dedicated enough, they can build a garden that reflects their personal taste or predilection. 

Figuratively speaking, this phrase demonstrates one’s power to shape their own life. It describes the freedom to make personal choices, decisions, and compromises that ultimately constitute one’s character. A desirable lifestyle requires one to make prudent decisions that truly aligns with their goals. As though attending to a garden—this process requires attentive care and fastidiousness. This metaphor shows that though building a desirable life is a difficult task, it is being gradually constructed every day. Every individual action, decision, or choice. Those all have an impact, no matter the size.

Conclusion: 

“The Other Side” is a highly didactic song that carries major themes and morals centered around cherishing one’s own life. It teaches listeners to avoid comparing their own life with others, as someone seemingly successful may have quiet, concealed struggles. By following the major morals in the song, they can pave the road toward a promising future, but always remember: The grass is not always greener on the other side. 

Preface:

This is a story I made based on the game “It’s None Of Your Business.” It is my first time writing in 2nd person, so sorry in advance if there are any sketchy parts.

Teaser:

After a lengthy hiatus from exploration, you and your friends start to feel bored from the monotony of life. Hearing rumors of an ominous house reported in a nearby town, you cannot refuse the opportunity to investigate. But you soon discover that the house is far from ordinary—corridors may shift and geometry defies all conventional physics. Yet, the true danger lies in the house’s inhabitant: The homeowner. A relentless man who will stop at nothing to keep you out of his house.

*Viewer discretion is advised if you are afraid of blood

What are the “Backrooms”?

The backrooms is an extradimensional labyrinth of procedurally generated rooms, lying in between everyday reality and non-existence. Most rooms have been known to instill a sense of nostalgia, but how they do that is currently unknown. The backrooms is essentially the out-of-bounds area of reality—a place no humans should be able to access.

But the backrooms isn’t completely inaccessible.

There lies a way to access this obscure, reality-bending area by no clipping out of reality. Noclipping is the act of clipping or falling through the ‘fabric of reality,’ whether voluntary or not. In action, it describes phasing through a solid object—usually a wall or floor. Noclipping can happen at a completely random time with no hints whatsoever; it could happen when your walking, leaning against a wall, or even sleeping.

That means that, at any moment, you can find yourself in the backrooms. You just don’t know when.

Levels:

The backrooms consists of a variety of levels that all have their own major differences. Some are safe while others are not. Most levels are non-euclidian, meaning they do not follow the traditional rules or foundations of geometry. This makes traversing through different backrooms levels extremely nerve-wrecking, since their usually unfamiliar and unpredictable

Level 0: The Lobby

After noclipping, you will find yourself in level 0. This is the first out of the myriad of levels in the backrooms. Level 0’s most prominent feature is its repeating yellowed wallpaper, creating maze-like routes with no clear exit. Every room in the level is completely different in some way. The floor throughout the level consists of worn out, damp carpet, permeating the air in a faint, musty egg-like scent. Dim, fluorescent lights on the ceiling flicker intermittently, emitting a constant, obtrusive buzzing sound that can be heard in every area in the level. After an extended period of listening, the sound has been known to cause throbbing migraines. Additionally, spread sporadically throughout the level are electric outlets, though the purpose of what they are for is unknown. As the level is devoid of hostile threats, the only potential challenge is the lack of evident resources. This has led to many explorers dying to exhaustion, dehydration, or starvation.

Level 7: Thalassophobia

Level quote: “And if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss also gazes back at you.”

Level 7’s environment is drastically different than level 0. Upon making it to this level, you will find yourself in a confined, rusty metal bunker. The damp grey concrete walls are sordid, tagged with graffiti and questionable brown stains. The dilapidated, rusty interior of the vessel contains scattered, decrepit furniture—such as metal bunk beds, makeshift bookshelves, and tattered wooden chairs. The cold, knee-deep murky water that inundates the room can quickly cause hypothermia without adequate protection, as the water has been recorded to reach near-freezing temperatures of 4°C. An old, rickety staircase serves as the exit to the chamber, leading to a deplorable hatch that provides access to the surface of level 7.

Surrounding the bunker is a vast expanse of ultrapure water—motionless, almost empty. A thick, dense fog rests above the water’s surface, hanging beneath a perpetually overcast sky. The bunker, despite its apparent lack of anchoring, still stays stationary, regardless of the water condition surrounding it. The seabed near the vicinity of the bunker is relatively shallow, but venturing out will reveal a sudden drop-off, with the sea bed descending to an unkown depth in a sheer verticlal drop. Research on the topography of level 7’s ocean is limited, but a creature dubbed “The Thing” has been found to roam the waters of level 7. Wave activity in the level is primarily from the disturbances generated by the movement of the being.

Moreover, research on the dense fog of the level has been revealed to contain a composition composed of microscopic bone fragments and organic residue, byproducts of the entity’s biological processes. Rather than being expelled into the water, they settle in the air, forming the thick, dense fog. Unlike conventional water vapor, this fog is made up of a totally different composition, causing it to float indefinetely, dispering only when disturbed. Moreover, prolonged exposure to the fog can cause the residue to accumulate on the skin, leading to lung irritation if breathed in directly.

This level is non-euclidian. In certain regions of level 7, the water exhibits non standard graviational orientations. The gravitational axis may deviate from its usualy downward pull, causing water to adhere latterally or even invert. This can lead to surreal scenes such as vertical waves or overhead oceanic plates, creating the illusion of a mirrored version of the ocean hanging above. Because of the volatility of the water, drinking from it should be avoided. Once water is indigested, it will continue to follow its irregular gravitational axis, which can cause it to get stuck to the side of someones esophogal lining. In excessive amounts, this can cause suffocation in the respitory system—essentially drowning the victim from the inside.

Conclusion:

The backrooms is a terrifying and unpredictable place. It’s a place that I should be unwilling to go, somewhere that I should dread—but, for some reason, I do not. Even with the ghastly entities and the volatility of the levels, there is some allure to the backrooms that makes me want to take a visit to this multidimensional area. I think the reason lies in the places detachment from reality. The ocassional dead silence and the feeling of solitude; the freedom to explore the liminal enviornments, dissecting every miniscule detail in a level; the disbelief to find something that bends the laws of physics or conventional belief. The backrooms just offers a place of pure novelty—even with the repetitive, procedurally generated rooms. Its a place, for me, to take a break from society itself—such as the inexorable evolution of AI, the constant war, and the potential pandemics . A way to hit the pause button to stop time for a while to take time to do something…new. Because is that not what humans find joy in doing?

My room has a bathroom—nothing sumptuous or obscure—just a regular bathroom. Ever since my family bought the house, there has been a strange knocking sound coming from the toilet. The sound has become customary, echoeing through the bathroom and enveloping the area in an inexplicable sense of dread and angst.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

Whenever I lie on my bed, I ponder: What is causing this sound? Is an animal stuck in the pipes? Or is a ghost haunting the bathroom? A myriad of questions continuously form in my head every day, but I’ve never had an answer to any of them. Surprisingly, as a child, I was never really fearful of the noise; I used to imagine it calling my name, replacing the acquainted noises with something more comforting.

Seldom, it stays completely silent. A foreboding quietness that makes me freeze, until the knocking penetrates through the stagnant air again—making me breath a sigh of relief. I used to think that the noises were sporadic, but then I timed how often the knocking sounds occurred and found that it was indeed not. The sound could be heard in 2 hour intervals exactly—not a minute off, not a second off, exactly on-point. This precise timing didn’t just happen on one occasion though; it happened on 6 separate occasions.

I try and repudiate these claims, but there’s too much evidence to prove otherwise. No one believes me or my findings anyways; I already told my entire family and trusted friends, but they all just laughed it off and called me crazy. Maybe if they listened to me they would still be here.

I’m starting to prepare my own breakfast and dinner because my family is away on a long trip. So I’ve been using the meat laying around the house to cook steaks and burgers—stuff my parents prohibited me from eating while they were here. So, now it’s just whatever is creating that knocking noise and I at home. Hopefully we get along well.

The knocking sound is getting more stringent lately and is occurring in closer intervals. When I timed how often the sound occurred again, I discovered that the noise happened in 1 hour intervals instead of 2. The noise is making getting sleep an arduous task; I hope this sound shuts up for once.

Every day, I wrench myself out of bed because of the bruises I got from an…ordeal that happened recently. In addition, I’m starting to run out of meat to cook with, so I’ll have to procure some more meat from my supply later in the day. I despise this task because of how disgusting and foul it is, but it’s currently my only source of food.

Also, the bathroom has started to reek of a rotting smell reminiscent of rotten meat. The stench is so noxious that I was forced to move to another room to sleep in, and yet I can smell small traces of the stench as it pervades around the house.

Ever since the knocking sounds got louder and the foul stench appeared, I never really used the bathroom again. I’m unsure whether this is from fear or regret, but I’m not going to eschew from visiting the bathroom anymore; I’m going to investigate the noise, today.

To avoid vomiting from the pungent smell, I’m going to bring a wet towel to cover my nose with; this should act as a crude gas mask-esque tool to stop me from smelling the stench. I still can’t give a plausible reason behind why I’m doing this other than curiosity.

Curiosity is an inexporable feeling; a tool that has guided humans for generations, a tool that helped us grow and expand our society, a tool that helped us make new discoveries. Curiosity is a primal feeling that has both killed many and protected the earliest generation of humans; it taught us how to create fire, but it also killed people. It killed people.

I’m a human. Please, say I’m still a human. Please…

As I entered the bathroom, I could already sense that something was wrong. Flies—huge groups of them—circled the toilet. The sound of intense buzzing filled the room—as the flies diverted their attention and began swarming around me. The wet towel was not working and the pungent smell managed to easily penetrate through it. Even though I was in extremely uncomfortable—especially with the masses of flies around me—I knew I was too far in. As I approached the toilet and looked down, I was horrified with what I saw:

Human body parts.

An eye—parts of it missing in chunks— was staring intently back at me. I stepped back, disgusted by the vile scene in front of me. How could this happen? What happened? When did this happen? Thoughts raced across my head but were suddenly inturupted by the knocking sound.

Knock Knock Knock.

The knocks were speeding up drastically, gradually morphing into into a clamorous cacophony. I covered my ears and darted out of the bathroom—my grip on the towel tightening. Even outside of the bathroom, I could still hear the knocking, like the noise was its own entity following me.

As I sprinted out of my bedroom, I suddenly tripped and started tumbling down a flight of stairs head-first. My head slammed against the floor, and a high-pitched ringing sound echoed through my head; it was bleeding profusely. The knocking sound was getting closer and closer, so ignoring the pain, I wrenched myself up and began running as drops of blood beaded down my forhead.

Just as I was about to make it to the entrence, my legs suddenly gave out as I slammed my knee against the floor. In excruciating pain, I tried to move my hands—but my entire body was flaccid and battered. I crawled past the entrence using the last bit of energy I had into the living room where my parents stayed. As my mom and dad laid on the ground with visible parts of their body cut off, I cuddled closer to them.

And as the knocking sound got closer and closer, my vision started to fade. My mind started to falter, with only one conceivable thing left: The knocking sound.

Knock, knock, knock.

This post has literally no apparent connection to school; I’m writing this because I can’t sleep. It’s 12:35AM right now, and for some reason, I’m doing this instead of sleeping.

If you’re reading this to learn something about me, don’t be bothered. I don’t have any knowledge to disseminate or motivational quotes to share; this whole post is just asinine and I’m surprised if you’re even reading this far.

BUT ACTUALLY, there is a big reason I’m writing this.

You see, my portfolio is completely boring and lacks any sort of emotion. So, maybe these random posts will make my portfolio more intriguing. Since I can’t think of anything else to write, I’m guessing that’s a telltale sign of sleep deprivation.

Also, I don’t know if this is even allowed. I guess i’ll ask other people! I just feel like your portfolio should consist of more than just academics.

Bye.

Say hello to my pet, Jerome.