Nothin' but Nihil

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10 Books in 10 Years

In 10 years, a lot will be different. Perhaps my point of view in life may have shifted, and the values I hold dear and close may change as well. Regardless of this, I wanted to create a list of books that may help expand my thoughts and perspectives in the next 10 years. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: I had already read Purple Hibiscus by Adichie before, and I really enjoyed the way she was able to portray the complex relationships and power struggles within a family. I feel like this book will also deliver with the complex relationship between Ifemelu and Obinize, as they try to make a relationship work despite their years apart and varying experiences. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey: This is a book that I bought from Barnes & Noble last year, and I've been meaning to read it for the longest time. I tend to like books that are about rebellion against an a figure of authority, and as someone interested in going into the medical field, I'm int

This I Have Learned

"You can't ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving" - Paul Kalanithi If there is one thing I found in high school, it's solace. Solace in the repetitive yet familiar layout of every school day. Solace in the supportive friends who collectively stress over the same classes. Solace in the words of Paul Kalanithi. As I first read When Breath Becomes Air, I thought that author Paul Kalanithi was literally just like me. Only, he wasn't. He was everything that I wanted to be. He was smart and successful. He was in my dream job. He was rich (at least I think so, I mean which neurosurgeon isn't rich?). But perhaps what I most admired about him was his sense of mastery over remotely everything. There was nothing that he couldn't do. While his escapades in the art (science) of medicine were very exciting as someone whose dreams were to always dabble in the field of biology, what I truly fell in love

You Real Cool?

I think it was maybe 8th grade in Mrs. Wright's class, but I distinctly remember reading We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks and feeling as though I didn't understand something. The deeper meaning behind it. Yes, education is cool and all, but what else lurks beneath this quintessential American poem? The short film that comes with the poem has allowed me to explore Brooks' piece through a completely new lens. I feel as if it provides me with more of a basic understanding of what she meant to accomplish by writing this piece, especially since it's told from her own perspective The film begins with Brooks as an old lady, traveling to different schools to read to them We Real Cool , as her target audience - the ones she is trying to warn - is the youth of America. While she takes us back to 1959, the year she first wrote this poem, the film turns from a color filter to a black-and-white one, perhaps symbolizing how the problems she discusses in her poem may feel like they w

Black on a Monday Morning

My mother always told me to never start the week off wearing black. Why wear the colors of a widow at the dawn of a new week? And while the Grim Reaper and the witch's cat both masquerade in black, has anyone ever thought to ask them why they do? Perhaps it reminds them of late summer nights surrounded by your closest friends and family, unaware of how rapidly time passes us by, simply enjoying the moment we have. Whenever I close my eyes, all I see is black. But rather than fear and avoid it, I welcome it with open hands, ready for it to momentarily whisk me away from the growing pains I entangle myself in. You see, black is like an empty canvas. You can make of it however you so choose. It can be oppressive when i'm anxious and afraid of the world and of people and of how they perceive me and how i fit in and what did i do wrong this time and why must i be like this and and and... But it can also restore and heal, or, at least, I choose to believe it does. For when I'm

Our Own Path

Ever since we first started reading Siddhartha , one thing that always stuck out to me was our protagonist's disdain for spiritual teachings. He felt that despite his father and the other Brahmins teaching him all they knew from the Hindu scriptures, "the mind wasn't satisfied, the soul wasn't quiet, the heat wasn't stilled." When he and Govinda go on their pilgrimage to meet the great Gautama, Siddhartha reaffirms what he believes to be true. Although the Buddha is the wisest, most enlightened man he has ever met, Siddhartha refuses to take refuge in his teachings and become a monk, even when his best friend Govinda does. After we first read this chapter in class, I remember many people at my table commented on the "ego" that Siddhartha displayed. "He's just a kid, what wisdom can he find that the Buddha himself couldn't?" And while I do agree that Siddhartha may have initially believed himself to be better than the "child-p

Eggplant Curry

While basic math and science are often objective in what they describe, those two things might as well be the only objective facts in our universe. Everything else is subjective: it depends on the person taking everything in. Perhaps the most subjective emotion experienced is humor. Everyone has their own sense of humor, and what I may find funny isn't necessarily going to make someone else laugh. I think one of the greatest examples might be with The Office . A lot of my friends say that this is one of the greatest and funniest shows they have ever watched, but personally, I don't get the hype. Do some episodes have interesting premises? Yeah, they do. But do I find it funny? Only sometimes. Most of the humor in that show is kind of hit or miss, at least in my opinion. Anyways, back to what I wanted to write about for today's blog. My brother probably has the most unique sense of humor out of anyone I know. You can never understand why exactly he finds something to be fu