Tags archives: personal-essay

The Anatomy of a Troll

The Anatomy of a Troll

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Packed train. 5pm. Commuter rush hour. My cheek is mashed into the arm of an older white man in his late 50’s as he focuses on his phone. Eyes down, music blaring into his ears, he disconnects from his surroundings and lets his fingers move across the screen. The unspoken rule of commuting is in play - anything on a phone during rush hour is fair game.[...]
Do Nice Guys always finish last?

Do Nice Guys always finish last?

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At university, being a nice guy (at least according to my beautifully curated social media avatars/metrics) seemed like the perfect fit. I was the quintessential nice guy; academically my performance was perfectly adequate and I had a sizeable, thoroughly decent group of friends. Thus far, I have passed every exam, dotted every ‘i’ and crossed every ‘t’ on m[...]
This year, I resolve to be Happy

This year, I resolve to be Happy

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Ben Goldacre may have proved that Blue Monday is a myth, but now researchers say we need to worry about the entire first week of the year.  They found that Tweets about grotty weather shot up, and everyone felt generally glum.  We took down our Christmas trees, packed up the tinsel, and went back to work. We’re poor as church mice after the excesses of pa[...]
Sink or Swim - My Journey into Therapy (Part 1)

Sink or Swim - My Journey into Therapy (Part 1)

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I perched on the edge of a beige chair, staring at a beige collection of files, lining the purposefully nondescript beige walls. Inevitably I would be greeted by a therapist that almost seemed like a Dickensian character match for this office - beige suit, blank personality, indifferent gaze. My friend once dressed as a guru, sat cross-legged on the lounge f[...]