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staying true to myself, reviving old interests... and DANDADAN?

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     These past two weeks I have been on insane journey of reviving my interests and learning to stay true to myself - and it all started with... Dandadan.     For those of you who aren't into the Japanese media scene, Dandadan is an anime series - season 1 of which was released October 4 of last year. That timing is important - especially for me. Season 2, however, was released 3 days ago. When did I have time to watch both seasons in 2 days you ask? I have no idea. It definitely didn't include staying up until 4 am. Nope.     To understand the significance of my watching this anime, we need to travel back 5 years to peak COVID-19 time. Those of us with access to internet services were indulging in media to a much higher degree than previously seen. One of the effects of the majority of the human population being delegated to communication and entertainment through virtual means is the rapid spread of different forms of leisure. One of these was anime...
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the phenomena of popularity and how it is measured through the ages

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     I’ve always been fascinated by the phenomena of “popularity.” I believe this concept presents itself differently across cultures, but it’s especially interesting as an immigrant to the United States, where this idea is perpetuated across media types. I’ll never know how exactly popularity is determined in my home country Ethiopia - but I sure remember the first time I encountered this ideology in America.      My family settled in Southern Minnesota when I was around 4 years old. My parents, of course, wanted me to be able to adjust to the new culture and ideologies of America so I could more readily fit in with and interact with my peers. Hence, the endless TV shows and movies that were meant to show me what exactly life was like in America.      I don’t quite remember the name of this particular show, but I believe it was on Disney channel - all I remember is a family of 4, with two siblings who were always at each other's throats. I r...
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comparison is the thief of growth

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     Comparing your day 1, or day 50, to someone else’s day 100+, robs you of healthy growth.      Sounds obvious, right? But how many times have we compared our performance with that of someone who has so much more experience than we do? How many times have we let that make us feel stupid? Useless? Hopeless, even?      But let’s put it into perspective. Maybe this process of thinking feels normal to you in day to day life, in things like sports or creative pursuits like art or music. But imagine you took an online course in… Astrophysics. Nothing crazy, but you spent a few weeks studying for 20 minutes a day, learning the basics. THEN - you walk into an Astrophysics class at Harvard. And when the professor asks a question and you struggle to find the right answer, does it mean you are stupid? No.      It takes time to become good at things. Time and commitment. Of course, there will always be the prodigies of the world. The ki...
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on seeking immediate gratification

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     For the longest time, I’ve been in a cycle of dreaming of my "best self", taking a few extreme steps in an attempt to reach this notion within 1 week, and failing miserably — so miserably it takes me weeks to recover and try again. This endless cycle perpetuates the misery I continue to feel every day as I see myself as a failure, again and again, when the truth that’s taken me so long to realize and put into action is that change does take time.      Of course, I could blame part of this cycle on social media. Say that the continuous feed of depressing and over-beautified content makes me feel as though I am not enough, and in fact, will never be. Unless I get this specific clothing piece. Or this specific vitamin. Or start this particular workout routine. Or launch a startup. Or become a millionaire before the age of 25. Or get into Harvard. Or start traveling the world.      You get my point.      While it is true that ...
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