nonfic Joe bog

  Prompt: Do you ever eavesdrop?                                       Joseph Bond I’d like to think my ears are normal size. They fit well underneath every pair of headphones I’ve owned, and any earbuds have slipped in perfectly fine. I have friends with bigger (Isaak) or smaller (Ben) ears than me, yet none of them can hear like I can. I’ll be sitting in the lounge, hear something crazy, and turn to my friends, expecting them to react the same, yet there they sit emotionless. To me, eavesdropping is usually accidental - a byproduct of my excellent hearing - yet that is not to say I don’t enjoy it, or even employ it to my benefit occasionally. Whether waiting on the bus, drifting off in class, or walking in public, I catch glimpses of conversations. To me, eavesdropping is more than a hobby or a form of entertainment, but a way to better connect myself...

The Nothing Dilemma I think too often people are hung up on getting ahead. Rushing from place to place, seeing all there is to see, not taking time to enjoy a moment or reflect internally. For every minute spent working, a corresponding amount should be spent processing what you have just done. In an era that glorifies efficiency, the notion of ‘doing nothing’ seems inane and carries a negative connotation when in reality it should be the opposite. Personally, I enjoy exercising, playing instruments, hanging out with friends, all as opportunities to relieve myself from other duties and let loose. By recharacterizing ‘doing nothing’ as an essential and necessary part of regular human behavior, we can recognize that inactivity is not only a good use of time but a necessary one. Just this last week, I visited China for spring break with my Mom and Dad. When not trying to figure out how to order food in chinese or splaying out jetlagged on our hotel couch, we were visiting monuments all ac...

     Man, I love yogurts. Any flavor, color size. I'll even eat the plain, bitter, fermented greek yogurts which are honestly kind of nasty. Ok so maybe not every yogurt, but you get the point. Dairy in general is fantastic. It wasn’t always this way though. The most memorable thing I ever got in the mail was my yogurt spoon, but beyond the physical item, the ideas and connections it presented to me have stuck with me since.       The first yogurt I ever had was my mom’s kefir. At 6 years old, I picked up the bottle thinking it was just milk. Boy was I wrong. Instantly I spit it out, disgusted at the drink that she regularly consumed. In my mind it was poison, not fit for human consumption. When confronted, she disagreed.  “You’ll get used to the taste, it’s fine” Lie I never liked Kefir, and I never will.       The next yogurt I tried was called Trix. This was my first excursion back into the world of  fermented milk ...

  Branching Out my Family Tree I’ve always wondered why it's called a family tree. It implies you can perfectly trace your lineage: you can't (at least not me). The analogy is also just wrong. Your lineage gets wider the farther back you go (e.g. your roots), but a tree gets wider the higher up you go. It's upside down, and not green or alive. Similarly, asking “who is your family” is quite the open ended question. You could be asking what specifically are their relations to me, what types of people they are, how I perceive them, or anything else. I’m sure that by the end of this essay, you’ll have more questions than answers, but maybe that's okay. Maybe I’ve driven you to learn more about them. Or maybe you’re just trying to get credit for class. That’s what I’m doing anyway. Fundamentally, my family includes my Father and Mother, the people who created me. Next comes my older sister, unfortunately. Finally, some might include a pet, like my deceased hamster Ginger,...