Dazzled by Star Power
There’s something deeply unsettling about our modern obsession with fame. Apparently, society has collectively decided that the true pinnacle of human achievement is securing those infamous “fifteen minutes of fame.” That’s now the ultimate validation, like a shiny participation trophy for simply existing under the right spotlight. Honestly, it’s almost admirable what people will do […]
Is Something Being Underrated a Good Thing?
I’ve been thinking a lot about the word underrated lately. It’s one of those terms people love to throw around when they’re talking about their favorite obscure band or that indie movie nobody knows about. It’s what hipsters say to basically mean, “I’m special because I like things no one else appreciates.” But what does […]
Writing is a Real Job and an Occupation—Here’s Why
The Age-Old Debate of Writing as a “Real Job” Even now in 2024, I feel like so many folks still see writing as a lovely little hobby where you scribble down your thoughts, sip tea, and wait for inspiration to strike. Meanwhile “real adults” do real jobs like constructing skyscrapers or assembling Chinese-produced IKEA furniture. […]
How Do We Make Our Ideas Become Real to Us?
Here’s a wild thought: most of the things rattling around in our heads aren’t real. By “real,” I mean you can’t physically poke at them. It’s all just synapses firing off inside our skulls, telling us stories about things we think exist.Still, real or imagined, we love to give those intangible ideas a physical form. […]
The Bridges and Barriers of Common Language
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world” – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations For years, I’ve felt that nearly every single word I utter is but a shadow of the thought I wish to convey. Indeed, human expression is often forcibly funneled into the narrow alleyways of symbols and allegory, what we colloquially […]
The Art of Unlearning
Early in my childhood, a small green puppet turned my life upside down. I remember sitting there as a very young child watching Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back as Yoda told Luke Skywalker: “You must unlearn what you have learned.” This distilled wisdom of the ages was delivered by a puppet that looked like […]
The Misconceptions of Success
Success is that unicorn we all chase. I’ve spent a good chunk of my life wrestling with what it really means, watching its definition stretch from a quaint, personal journey into a full-blown societal scoreboard. The longer I’ve been at it, the more I’ve realized that it’s a rigged game. Apparently, in a seemingly meaningless […]
In Defense of Chronic Idea Hoarding
It might surprise you to learn that I’ve abandoned my writer’s notebooks. You know, those sacred, spiral-bound graveyards of half-baked epiphanies and plot twists that seemed genius at 3 AM but regrettably pedestrian in daylight. Not so long ago, I once clung to those pages like they were a lifeline. For me, they served as […]
Learning the Delicate Balance of Challenging the Reader
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my career as a writer—aside from the grim reality that nobody really cares about how clever you think you are—it’s that there’s an art to making people feel just smart enough to keep reading. It’s a very delicate balance, though. As the wordsmith, I must double as a […]