<p>
</p><p>Contrary to what people see when they watch my smiles…”oh, she is always happy”, “oh, what a happy child!”, I have known pain. Sometimes, it is very direct. At other times, I can feel it rolling off my friends in waves. I have a large drum reserved for painful memories. Sad thing is that it never gets full. It is always half empty or half full. Such was its state when Isobel ran into the room that sunny day. The air around her was ripe with gloom and I could see that she was so engrossed in her pain that she did not notice that she had thrown my half-eaten cookie to the floor in her whirl windy haste.</p><p><br></p><p> I went towards her and was about to request that she give me another cookie from her coat pocket. I knew she had just come from the phone booth that was beside the snack store, and like me, she would always buy a packet as a passerby. I was shocked to see that there was already a stagnant pool on her mackintosh – she was crying. I made a move to share in the hurt, then I saw that she was pulling out her diary to write. In my curiosity and with my perfect eyesight, I watched from the shadows as her ink raced across the pages in a wicked blur. </p><p>Here’s a peek at that page.<br></p><p style="text-align: left;">Dear Zoe,
</p><p style="text-align: center;">I know I have an epistle to write,
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Too many words clashing in my head.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">My heart is struggling to let go,
</p><p style="text-align: center;">It's seeking closure, it's seeking peace.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">I'm wary from thought, had to break all the pieces down to understand
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Could a word so simple be that vile?
</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br></p><p style="text-align: center;">All the memories from that day have suddenly come rushing like an Ocean overflowing its banks.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">The route is not the same, but then, all trees look alike,
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Not those alone, even the red sands and the mud houses and the long roads and the people from afar.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Suffice it to say that it was like a photocopy in my head.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">I'm sure that I can show you specific spots where I had to hold tears, or where I had particular memories or where I helped that little boy do his business.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">I could show you that foreign woman that insisted on over billing me for using that public restroom.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">That was the strongest I had to ever be in my life.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">No one had ever abandoned me before that day.
</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br></p><p style="text-align: center;">It started as a small niggling doubt
</p><p style="text-align: center;">My heart skipped one then 2 beats
</p><p style="text-align: center;">I realized that I almost had a panic attack coming on.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Since I was not at one point, there wasn’t anything I could do to stop it.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">I could scarcely believe it.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">I was certainly afraid, I only started to realize it when I looked at all the trees passing by and I was reminded again of when my heart tearlessly broke into a million tiny pieces.<img src="/media/inline_insight_image/Diary 2.jpeg" style="background-color: transparent;" alt=""></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br></p><p style="text-align: center;">I heard that faint sound within me,
</p><p style="text-align: center;">It sounded like something was wrecked inside my already broken self.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Looking in, I see my soul in tatters.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">How could a love so pure leave me so fast?
</p><p style="text-align: center;">How will life go on?
</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br></p><p style="text-align: center;">I called you up to get into your head
</p><p style="text-align: center;">The words you hurl break me more than you can understand.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">My creative vibes have become my roasting stick.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Who am I to blame, except the one "me"?
</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br></p><p style="text-align: center;">You think I never cared; I get that.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">You think I love another, that too is well aimed, but,<br></p><p style="text-align: center;">What do you mean when you say I was not enough?
</p><p style="text-align: center;">You, the one person I gave free reign?
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Touché!!!
</p><p style="text-align: center;">I thought you'd know me better.
</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br></p><p style="text-align: center;">You should apologize for the hurt you caused.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">The deep wounds you cut went deeper
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Hacked and hacked till all my layers were off
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Somehow, I'd have preferred your fits
</p><p style="text-align: center;">No, not your fists, but a different form of the anger.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Then again, I don't deserve it,
</p><p style="text-align: center;">I didn't do anything to call it to me.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br></p><p style="text-align: center;">I'd miss you when you’re not nearby,
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Want you close, always there.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Want you to hold my hand, play with it
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Grab my hugs, feel the heat.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Look into my eyes and see my heart,
</p><p style="text-align: center;">Melt the heart with your own fiery wreath,
</p><p style="text-align: center;">To keep me locked in, just beyond the edge..
</p><p style="text-align: center;">After today though, the boy would be my past, forever.
</p><p><img src="/media/inline_insight_image/Diary pics 3.webp" alt=""><br></p><p>She then took a deep breath, and laid down to sleep, still fully dressed, face awash with tears, she slept the sleep of the dead, plagued with dreams. I moved out of the shadows and like a trick, put this memory in my memory drum, and laid down beside her. She was after all, a friend so dear and reminded me of a younger version of me. With the pain off her chest, she was able to rest. You should let go of the pain too, anyway you know how. Isobel wrote the pain away- she's painfully skilled at that. You could try crying it away, or talking it away, or some other way. Burying it means it hasn't gone away. You just saved it for the next landslide. </p><p><br></p><p>
</p><p>
</p><p>
</p><p>
</p><p>
</p><p>
</p><p>
</p><p>
</p><p>
</p><p>
</p><p>
</p><p>
</p><p>
</p><p>
</p><p>
</p><p>
</p>
At the end of the month, we give out prizes in 3 categories: Best Content, Top Engagers and
Most Engaged Content.
Best Content
Top Engagers
Most Engaged Content
Best Content
We give out cash prizes to 7 people with the best insights in the past month. The 7 winners are picked
by an in-house selection process.
The winners are NOT picked from the leaderboards/rankings, we choose winners based on the quality, originality
and insightfulness of their content.
Top Engagers
For the Top Engagers Track, we award the top 3 people who engage the most with other user's content via
comments.
The winners are picked using the "Top Monthly Engagers" tab on the rankings page.
Most Engaged Content
The Most Engaged Content recognizes users whose content received the most engagement during the month.
We pick the top 3.
The winners are picked using the "Top Monthly Contributors" tab on the rankings page.
Here are a few other things to know for the Best Content track
1
Quality over Quantity — You stand a higher chance of winning by publishing a few really good insights across the entire month,
rather than a lot of low-quality, spammy posts.
2
Share original, authentic, and engaging content that clearly reflects your voice, thoughts, and opinions.
3
Avoid using AI to generate content—use it instead to correct grammar, improve flow, enhance structure, and boost clarity.
4
Explore audio content—high-quality audio insights can significantly boost your chances of standing out.
5
Use eye-catching cover images—if your content doesn't attract attention, it's less likely to be read or engaged with.
6
Share your content in your social circles to build engagement around it.
Contributor Rankings
The Rankings/Leaderboard shows the Top 20 contributors and engagers on TwoCents a monthly and all-time basis
— as well as the most active colleges (users attending/that attended those colleges)
The all-time contributors ranking is based on the Contributor Score, which is a measure of all the engagement and exposure a contributor's content receives.
The monthly contributors ranking tracks performance of a user's insights for the current month. The monthly and all-time scores are calcuated DIFFERENTLY.
This page also shows the top engagers on an all-time & monthly basis.
All-time Contributors
All-time Engagers
Top Monthly Contributors
Top Monthly Engagers
Most Active Colleges
Contributor Score
The all-time ranking is based on users' Contributor Score, which is a measure of all
the engagement and exposure a contributor's content receives.
Here is a list of metrics that are used to calcuate your contributor score, arranged from
the metric with the highest weighting, to the one with the lowest weighting.
1
Subscriptions received
2
Tips received
3
Comments (excluding replies)
4
Upvotes
5
Views
6
Number of insights published
Engagement Score
The All-time Engagers ranking is based on a user's Engagement Score — a measure of how much a
user engages with other users' content via comments and upvotes.
Here is a list of metrics that are used to calcuate the Engagement Score, arranged from
the metric with the highest weighting, to the one with the lowest weighting.
1
A user's comments (excluding replies & said user's comments on their own content)
2
A user's upvotes
Monthly Score
The Top Monthly Contributors ranking is a monthly metric indicating how users respond to your posts, not just how many you publish.
We look at three main things:
1
How strong your best post is —
Your highest-scoring post this month carries the most weight. One great post can take you far.
2
How consistent the engagement you receive is —
We also look at the average score of all your posts. If your work keeps getting good reactions, you get a boost.
3
How consistent the engagement you receive is —
Posting more helps — but only a little.
Extra posts give a small bonus that grows slowly, so quality always matters more than quantity.
In simple terms:
A great post beats many ignored posts
Consistently engaging posts beat one lucky hit
Spamming low-engagement posts won't help
Tips, comments, and upvotes from others matter most
This ranking is designed to reward
Thoughtful, high-quality posts
Real engagement from the community
Consistency over time — without punishing you for posting again
The Top Monthly Contributors leaderboard reflects what truly resonates, not just who posts the most.
Top Monthly Engagers
The Top Monthly Engagers ranking tracks the most active engagers on a monthly basis
Here is what we look at
1
A user's monthly comments (excluding replies & said user's comments on their own content)
2
A user's monthly upvotes
Most Active Colleges
The Most Active Colleges ranking is a list of the most active contributors on TwoCents, grouped by the
colleges/universities they attend(ed)
Here is what we look at
1
All insights posted by contributors that attended a particular school (at both undergraduate or postgraduate levels)
2
All comments posted by contributors that attended a particular school (at both undergraduate or postgraduate levels) —
excluding replies
Below is a list of badges on TwoCents and their designations.
Comments