NF Blog

What are your secret survival strategies?  There’s a philosophy I live by, that goes “fake it till you make it.” It’s generic and clichéd, but works, in large part. I have many fears and insecurities that people don’t see. I act in a confident, assured manner and work quietly through my failures until I’ve reached success. But even when I achieve my goals, it sometimes still doesn’t feel enough. I don’t feel enough. So there remains a thin film of fakery in my motions, to cover up my doubts inside. I don’t say things to inflate myself or go out of my way to feed an ego, but in a quiet, nonverbal way I can’t resist, I pull that film close to me, distorting what’s inside to everyone and myself. The result is that my motivations become perverted; my fears become empowered, and I reach for success to keep my insecurities locked away and my thin cover, hiding my weaknesses, from being torn away. I see the reflection of how others see me sometimes. I see the con...

What could you live without? I think I could live without my phone. My smartphone, to be clear. I wouldn’t want to give up my basic functions of communication. I’ve thought a lot about how my daily life would be different if I traded my Samsung for a flip phone. I think I could do it. I’m not sure, and I have yet to test it, but I think that it might have an overall positive effect on my life. I rely on my phone a lot. From texting and calling to social media, from video games to news and other media, my phone is a constant in my life. It’s under my pillow when I sleep, and almost always in my pocket or around me during the day. It provides a lot of benefits to my life; access to the internet, connection with people, entertainment. I must also say, however, that it has negatives too. Such constant access to technology, the internet, and endless entertainment is incredibly distracting. I waste a lot of time on my phone. Playing games, scrolling through my insta...

Is doing nothing a good use of your time? I’m a pretty busy person. I cram a lot in my schedule, and have a lot of responsibilities and goals. But I always find myself doing nothing at times when you could argue that I, in fact, should be doing something. So this begs the question; do I necessarily find this a bad thing? Here’s my daily schedule; my mom wakes me up at 6:50, and I climb out of bed, throw on some clothes, and stumble downstairs by 7:10. Some days, I leave the house by 7:30 and make it to school on time. On other days, I don’t. I often find myself in 1st hour brushing my teeth instead of sitting in Physics. I have Nonfiction Writing 2nd hour, and a study hall 3rd. I spend 3rd hour practicing piano in the attic. That’s a positive for me; being productive when I could be on my laptop. I have class until my 5th hour free period, and since the attic is busy, I’m usually in the library. It’s a perfect time for me to do homework and study. I would say that I’m producti...

Prompt: What can older people learn from your generation?  There is a perspective out there that the thoughts and writings of younger people are less important and valuable than that of more mature generations. Personally, I would hesitate to discount the writings and perspectives of an entire age group. Different people, including those of different ages, see the world in different ways, and I think that it is important to equally consider different perspectives and see what can be gleaned from each.  In a middle age perspective, there will of course be more room and opportunity for reflection, to look back upon and analyze a time in youth. That is the unique privilege of those who have lived a certain time and experience. And perhaps with older age, there too comes a wisdom that allows a deeper understanding of people and the world. On the writings of young people, they possess their own privilege; to write during a situation and experience. I do ...