The other day I had an hour to kill before seeing a movie with my dad. I had options. I could write the next scene of my short story, read some poetry, or breeze through a chapter of my current novel. Instead, I went on Facebook. Then I checked my inbox on Yahoo. Then Gmail. Then Goodreads. Back and forth, from site to site, for 60 minutes.
By the time my dad came up to pick me up, the hour had disappeared. I had actually lost an hour online. Continue reading
Hey guys! My exams finished up yesterday, hallelujah! My AP Biology exam was my most daunting obstacle – especially considering I found a twitching lizard on its back two days beforehand in my basement – but it’s over now. I haven’t been doing a great job of posting or responding to comments and messages, though that will change as I have more free time. My birthday is in ten days so maybe I’ll post about that later. For now, however, here’s an anti-process essay I wrote for my Advanced Composition course; as always I’d appreciate any comments or constructive criticism!
Proof. Trust me, it’s bigger than it looks…
Unless you are above the age of 110 or you actually like to go outside, you probably know about the social networking website Facebook. Many people assume the purpose of this site is to share status updates, cute baby pictures, and other personal tidbits. Well, they’re wrong. Continue reading
Since I’ve started this blog, I’ve gotten quite a few messages like these ones:
“Thomas, I love your blog! Your posts remind me of cotton candy and bath towels. I hope you don’t think I’m a stalker.” – anonymous commenter.
“Your post about high school relationships really made me reevaluate my own romantic tendencies. You’re so lucky you only date fictional characters – obviously Alec Lightwood, Mr. Rochester, Sam Roth, etc. belong to you. Sorry for creeping, ha ha.” – some nice person who recognizes what/who is rightfully mine.
“Not to be a total creeper but I am astounded by your lack of a life. Go back to reading books or something, this blog is just plain bad.” – my self-esteem.
Okay, obviously none of those are true quotes besides the last one. But they all share a common theme – people apologize or feel awkward for reading my blog. Due to society’s standards, people express a sense of shame for looking at my work. Continue reading
Filed under Society
A few weeks ago in AP Psychology my class and I were discussing human sexuality, and specifically, the fraternal birth order effect. It was an interesting and intellectual discussion, and one of the better ones we had had, until someone said:
“Oh my gosh, I have three younger brothers. One of them could be gay. That’s so depressing.”
Immediately I thought to myself,” Why is that depressing, huh? Just because one of your brothers has a slightly higher chance of being homosexual? Does that mean you would stop loving him? That’s so shallow, my goodness…”
Last week I accidentally publicized my post about Key recommending Nicki Minaj’s album on Facebook. I didn’t realize it until three days later, and by that time everyone probably saw how I fan boy Key all the time. Not something I wanted my peers to see. Then again, I am posting this on a public blog that is available for everyone to view online. And I might as well accept the fact that I’m an obsessed individual with no life a unique guy with unusual, interesting tastes.
This introduces an introspective dilemma. Why should I be ashamed of my tastes? Who cares if I blog about pop and books and Key and whatever else happens to interest me? Probably no one, but that’s besides the point. I suppose I’m a bit shy when it comes to what people know and don’t know about me, and it makes me uncomfortable for people (especially people who I know in real life, strangely) to lurk on my blog without commenting. Or maybe I’m just a tad insecure – who knows what people think of me after reading this blog? I imagine them being like…
1. “oh, look at Thomas! he reads books! hahahahaha”
2. “LOL, he listens to kpop. and he’s not korean! hahahahahaha”
3. “KEY IS MINE NOT HIS MUST KILL MUST KILLLL”
4. “i spot a grammar mistake! i can’t believe thomas doesn’t know how to write english! and to think he reads in a corner all the time…”
My self-deprecating side just got a kick out of that. I actually don’t mind #1 and #2, but #3 and #4 concern me. #3 because I fear for my life, and #4 because I always believed I could write at least decently. I hope so…
Anyway, this post doesn’t really make any sense because I started with publicizing accidentally and then merged into insecurities over the internet… oh well! I have a copious amount of homework to do, so thanks for wasting your time reading this and have a great day (:
May Key be with you.
PS: By the way, today is the birthday of one of my best friends! Happy birthday best friend! You can visit her curry-based blog here.
Filed under Personal
the quiet voice 