Weekend Reflection #2
What I Accomplished: I Built a Blanket Fort
Writing that heading, I realize it could sound like some kind of metaphor for re-discovering my inner child or something like that. But no, I really did build a blanket fort, and it’s awesome. Maybe it did bring out some of the kid in me, but those are the moments I love. If there’s anything I’ve learned from being stuck in lockdown, it’s that I gave up too much of myself before to expectations, and I won’t do it again. It’s better to wait out a pandemic in a fort you made yourself than trapped in a place you forced yourself to be.
What I’m Working Towards: A Writing Routine
Last week, I mentioned that my writing habit began here, with weekly updates, as a way to practice and refine my passion. But that practice has to go somewhere; for a time, I was able to publish a few posts a week, some updates, some impromptu, and an article or two. Unfortunately, I was never able to close in on a writing routine for myself. I didn’t have specific goals or an outline of what I wanted to publish when. It’s a big part of why I fell off the wagon for so long. In hindsight, then, I’m working to build up my writing stamina, and hopefully, soon, These weekly posts will give way to more. So, in the interest of setting goals, keep an eye out for some posts this upcoming week. Ideas are still floating around, but I’m looking forward to getting more on the page and out into the world.
What I’m Reading: Conspiracy by Ryan Holiday
To me, narrative non-fiction is one of the best forms of storytelling out there. Locked in by fact and history, the genre takes apart seemingly simple moments in life and reveals the complex, almost unbelievable tales of real-life if only you looked closer. And this story is no different. Some may remember gossip rumblings about wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan and a leaked sex tape a few years ago. If you paid attention any farther, you might remember Hogan’s lawsuit against media gossip giant Gawker for its release, earning him more than a hundred million dollars in damages. For most, that was the whole story. But in reality, that was the culmination of a decade long conspiracy, plotted in the shadows, to bankrupt Gawker and its owner Nick Denton. Who was behind it? Silicon Valley investor and billionaire Peter Thiel. Why? A personal slight and a vendetta against harmful media. Holiday explores the complexities, machinery, and personnel behind the conspiracy and how it all came to play out. Behind the story itself, Conspiracy shows the real influence of people in power and that the things we believe impossible can be committed behind closed doors.
A Quote I’m Thinking About:
“The intention must be crystal clear, straight and balanced.
Once the arrow has gone, it will not come back, so it is better to interrupt a shot, because the movements that led up to it were not sufficiently precise and correct, than to act carelessly, simply because the bow was fully drawn and the target was waiting”
The Archer by Paulo Coelho
Weekend Reflection #1
When I originally started this blog, I had no idea what to write, but I knew I needed to write something. My first posts were basic updates on my life, 3-5 simple little thoughts, and reflections. At first, they were just meant to help me get started, fill the page, and get used to hitting publish. But over time, those little updates, even if no one was reading them, became a deep-rooted source of self-awareness and fun. I reflected like this every week for most of 2019 and through the first months of 2020 until the pandemic. Now, with life moving forward, if not out, I wanted to return to that practice again and take the time to post openly here again. Feel free to keep up with my life here as well. Hopefully, you find some interest in my ramblings.
What I’m Confronting: An Outspoken Balance
For most of my life, I’ve remained incredibly tight-lipped about my political and social stances. I have the privilege to go through life without fear of policy or activism affecting my life in any way other than conceptually. And, like many in my position, I chose to remain quiet about them for a long time. It was not because I thought my views were wrong or even opposed to my peers, but because my privilege allowed my silence and breaking that exposed me and that privilege. I saw my ability to remain quiet, draw no attention as an asset, rather than the vice it more often is.
And yet, sitting alone in my apartment, watching the tremors of the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the rising tide of insurrection through my place of quiet, the walls started to crumble. I started breaking out into internet fights with the delusions of the conservatives on my page. I doomscrolled through Twitter and scoffed with every passing post. Like a pendulum released, I swung, hard and fast, to the other extreme. Though I was now open to the world about my thoughts, supporting those I cared about, I had no control, no nuance. Now my privilege gave way to a weaponized ego. Trodding wherever I could without consideration. It’s taken time, but I’ve started to find balance. My thoughts and feelings have become more nuanced. I’ve come to resent the years I spent in silence. It’s not perfect, but I am learning when and what to speak up about and when to let others step forward. I come to understand that there is no neutrality in the issues that really matter.
What I’m Reading: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
I’m not typically one for popular fiction, but Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library has me taken aback. The story centers on the approaching-middle-aged Nora, who has squandered every opportunity given to her out of “life-fright.” On the verge of her death, she finds herself in the titular Midnight Library, where every possible path of her life exists as a book she may experience by cracking the spine. Her life as a rockstar, an Olympic medalist, even a glaciologist is all there for her to experience, if only she had done things differently. Reading that description, it’s hard not to think the book is riddled with tropes. And yet, to my surprise, the book subverts them every time. Halfway through, and I have no idea where the story is headed. I have to admit, it has me hooked. Perhaps I ought to give more new fiction a chance.
P.S. I tend to read a lot, and not every book makes it into these weekly recommendations. If you are interested in my other reads and rec’s sign up for my newsletter, where I send out a monthly reading roundup.
A Quote I’m Stuck On:
“People learn, early in their lives, what is their reason for being. Maybe that’s why they give up so early, too.”
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
2020: A Reflection On What I Learned
I’m not one for new year’s resolutions; it’s never been for me. But, with 2020 passing me by, I would like to reflect on what happened, the pain and pleasure, of the last 12 months. The tempting thing to do is to sigh and tally off complaints, but in the interest of growth, I want to take time to look at a few things I’ve learned this year and what that means for next.
I lost. And I learned to live without
We all lost things in 2020, some more than others, some less. For me and many others, we lost possession of the futures we thought we had. Early in the year, my plan was staged out in front of me, graduate, spend the summer working, and come fall move to New York to officially start my sound design career. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel: the grand theater on the other side. All I had to do was get there. Then the pandemic hit, and when I reached the end of that tunnel, all that was left was a flickering ghost light and an empty house. The house electrician was laid off.
Suddenly I was in Boston for another year, hunting for something, anything, else, and asking, “what now?” The career that had always been in the palm of my hand snapped away like so many others, and I had to move on. It took time, months, for me to come to terms with what I’d lost. But I came to realize that it was never mine in the first place. No matter how sure it was, that future was never mine to claim—an allowance of possibility. With that realization came solace and growth. You can never lose what was never yours in the first place. And as much as we’d like to believe it, the future, no matter how sure, is never ours. It took time, but I learned to live without theater and without that future. Maybe it will come later, but for the moment, I’m content to see what I can do with my time as it is right now.
I rediscovered my individuality and my adventure
Without my career, a social life, or even a gym, I had to get a bit creative. The summer became an exploration of old passions: hours of video games, photography walks, even a good month of yoga. Despite its chilling loneliness at first, all of this free time gave me a lot of time to remember myself. It was my first true alone time in as long as I can remember, and it was exactly what I needed. I rediscovered myself and all the things that had been overshadowed by the twenty-something career grind.
Eventually, my old passions gave way to new ones. I quite obsessively took up running in April and ran my first (virtual) marathon just a week ago. In tandem, another year in Boston meant I could finally explore the city in a way I never had time to before. I fell in love with it all over again and, in the process, fell in love with adventure. Long morning runs turned into chartings of the Charles River. Photography walks became forrays into the nooks and crannies of the city. All of this now boils up inside me, ready to explore wherever I can. Even in the heart of my Semester in Spain, I wasn’t as adventurous as I am now. So much of who I am writing this I owe to what I dug up in the midst of turmoil. I take these with me out of 2020 and hopefully to a more fulfilling new year.
I learned what it means to be truly supported
Along with my new self, I also take a host of friends, family, and loved ones, new and old, into 2021 with me. Despite our isolation, so much of the last year was filled with endless support from those around me. The little families and communities I found in this pandemic can’t be overlooked. Without them, I couldn’t have made it through. Because of them, I learned what it really feels like to be supported.
New Friday night Shabbat dinners with the roommates became a welcome source of good conversation, warm challah, and learning. Creative zoom calls filled with laughter, shared art, and puppetry shows brought me back together with old friends. Even the impromptu adventures with a partner, or the quiet support of family thousands of miles away, felt like a wash of endless community. The day-to-day interaction may be lost or awkward, but it forced us to be intentional and unconditional with the way we show our love and friendship. More than anything else, this is what I hope to hold onto from 2020 and grow into this year or next, pandemic or not.
What comes next
Nothing changed between December 31st and New Years Day; it’s just a day after all. There is still a pandemic, and there is heaps of work to do in all forms, that’s for sure. Even still, change happened, at least in me, through 2020—and that’s worth reflecting on. Despite its challenges, I can only hope to make the best of what I learned this year and take my growth with me into the new year. No resolutions, but another chance at change and growth.
Weekend Reflection #45
What I’m excited for: New Opporunities
The wake of COVID-19 has completely changed my outlook for the next year I had planned to move states, start a new freelance life, and leave this one behind. Instead, I now have an opportunity to really take stock and work within the boundaries of our new normal. It’s intimidating having to shift every expectation I set up for myself, but further limitations mean new opportunities. Now I am looking forwards to living with friends, exploring my creativity in new ways, and having a chance at a life I never thought I would want.
Weekend Reflection #44
What I’m Reading: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
One of the first books recommended to me on my path of anti-racist activism. The book takes the form of a letter from Coates to his then 15-year-old son. More poetry than prose, Coates walks his son through his life, confronting a kind of fear and identity that his now teenaged son sees in himself through the murder of Trayvon Martin. It’s beautiful and bleak. How could it not be? I can never claim to understand the experiences and lessons of this book, but even its short window into this world has deeply affected the way I confront my own role and privilege. Though just a step, this has become one of the more vital pieces of my anti-racist education.
What I’m Reconciling: My Expectations
The reality of the future has never been more evident than during this pandemic. That may sound odd or counter to the confusion we are all experiencing, but that’s just it. The future has always been this way, unpredictable and unwieldy. We only see it for what it has always been. Pre-pandemic, the future we thought we knew was just a function of our expectations. We saw the lives we were racing towards, opportunities and lifestyles waiting for us to grab them. The confusion we now feel is us reconciling those expectations with the truth that none of those things were ever sure. Now we must adjust. Rather than cling to a career or lifestyle, we need to prepare to be open to change. The passing on this pandemic is not a return to normalcy. What we have learned about the nature of the future continues to be real with or without a virus. So we must adjust our mindset to prepare and be comfortable with change in all its forms. Expectations and rooted passions can unhinge us from that reality if we are not careful. The danger of the future is not the future itself but in how we confront it. Better to take what we can with open arms then deny the truth of what comes next.
Weekend Reflection #43
What I’m Reading: Manifesto For a Moral Revolution by Jacqueline Novogratz
I rarely read a new book so soon after its release. I usually like to watch how it trends for a bit and see what comes out of the word-works and what kinds of recommendations it draws. But Novogratz’s book hit my desk fast, loaded with suggestions form some of the people I respect most. To make it even better, I chose this book along with a friend as a starting point for a new book club. It couldn’t;t have come at a better time, amid the protests and calls for change. Novogratz’s manifesto is a brilliant handbook for anyone looking to break conformity and make real change in the world. Backed with stories from her time at her Non-Profit, Acumen, Novogratz brings true wisdom to a time rife with reform. While the book focuses on change via investment and business, the lessons within are applicable to any individual looking to be a force for change.
An Intervention on Denial
In the past two weeks, I have watched so many people fall into the snares of hate and denounced the intentions of Black Lives Matter and national protests. Friends, scholars, students, and intellectuals alike, as if from nowhere, have turned their backs and denied the value of human life and connection. People who have always spoken up, from all sides, are now eerily silent.
Arguments erupt in the supposed search for truth, but end up somewhere in the distance. Scrolling through comments and twitter threads, I’ve seen every kind of rationalization, ranging from the half-baked “If it wasn’t for the property damage…” to delusions of a Marxist coup d’etat. Pleas of support and change are met less with clear thought than with egregious and tangential bullying. There are guilty on both sides.
But how do we pull back the curtain on a falsely rationalized “truth?” Do you trudge along and hope they come to their senses in the wake of change? Or do you stand up and educate them on their own misjudgments? I’m for the latter.
The growing divide is less an argument for truth than an intervention on its denial. A view only possible through privilege. Those who come out on the other side, understand themselves in a new way and contribute to change. Meanwhile, the rest pull further into delusion.
The reality is that deep down, everyone, even those in denial, knows what the right thing is. Delusion is a shield. The war to be waged is not with truth, but a confrontation with our own denial. As Marcus Aurelius wrote nearly two thousand years ago: “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” We know what is right, there is no argument to be had, only a willingness to listen and confront our own faults.
The path forward is one of action and intervention. Choose to confront the denial around you and inside you at every turn. The truth is there, as long as you are open to it.
Resources to help you with your own intervention can be found here or here
You can also donate to bail funds here and support the Black Lives Matter Movement directly here.
Weekend Reflection #42
What I’m Reading: Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu-Suzuki
I’m taking a little break from the west to expand my philosophical interest to the east. This book has repeatedly floated to the top of the list. In many ways, I find Suzuki’s messages to reflect much of what I’ve internalized in my reading of western philosophies. The book has forced me to take a more in-depth look at my meditation practices, which for all intents and purposes, is pretty sloppy. For those unfamiliar with eastern philosophy or Zen, I think this is a great place to start.
What I’m Commiting to: Active Anti-Racism
I will be the first to admit my exposure to black voices in America has been incredibly slim. But seeing and supporting the protests around the world has truly opened my eyes to how much more I have to learn and take part. There is a place for all of us in the fight for equity and justice. To that end, I am speaking up and educating myself however I can. If you’d like to join you can find valuable resources here: https://blacklivesmatter.carrd.co/
A Quote I’m Thinking About:
“I am convinced that people are much better off when their whole city is flourishing than when certain citizens prosper but the community has gone off course. When a man is doing well for himself but his country is falling to pieces he goes to pieces along with it…”
Pericles
You may say that the racial inequity of this country (and the world) has nothing to do with you. But it absolutely does. We are nothing without those around us. We have a duty to protect and stand up for those around us. What’s bad for the bee is bad for the hive.
Weekend Reflection #41
What I’m Reading: That One Should Disdain Hardships by Musonius Rufus
I’ve been waiting a long time to get my hands on this one. If you’re familiar with Stoicism you will usually recall the three pillars, Marcus, Seneca, and Epictetus. Apart from these 3, Stoic literature is very disparate. That’s why I was so glad to find a new edition of the discourses of Musonius Rufus. If you are looking to expand your philosophy palette in a more academic way I would recommend it. Musionius served as Epictetus’ teacher and the lines of influence are very clear. A must-read fo the budding Stoic.
Weekend Reflection #40
What I’m Enjoying: Reconnecting
I’m sure most people are having this experience right now. Trapped in our houses, without much contact, we are suddenly reconnecting with old friends, family, and past influences. I like (and hope) to think it’s less of a defensive response to loneliness than an active choice to reconnect with the things we find truly meaningful. For me, friendships have always come and gone, I’ve gotten used to the transience of relationships. But now, I find myself reaching out to old friends, best friends, and finding new ways to rekindle those relationships. Pre pandemic, I would have shuddered at the thought of breaking those barriers, but spending this time alone, exploring ourselves in a new way, I think we are all opening up more than we ever have. It’s kind of amazing to watch and participate in that.
What I’m Falling In Love With: My City
I’ve lived in Boston for the last four years. Two of them in my current apartment in Orient Heights. In all that time, I never took the opportunity to explore the city or even my neighborhood. I was always going somewhere with a “purpose” never just out for the sake of wandering. Before I leave Boston in the fall, I want to change that. Yesterday I went for a walk in my neighborhood and stumbled onto a beautiful field, surrounded by marsh, hidden away where I never thought to look. Even just this adventure made me fall in love with this city all over again. It’s more than enough to get me off my butt and out every day. I can’t wait to see what else I find.
What I’m Focusing On: Equanimity
If the Stoics had to boil down their ideal into one word, it would be “apatheia.” I know it sounds pretty close to apathetic, which is a bit misleading. I prefer to compare it to today’s definition of equanimity. That is, to find the composure of mind to not be swayed, or subverted by extreme passion, pain, or overwhelming emotion. The goal is not to cut off feeling, but to reach a state of mind and presence where we cannot be disturbed by them. Easier said than done. But in those moments of clarity, it’s easy to see how we can begin to accomplish this. Staying present, focusing on what we can control, temperance in the face of pleasure. In short, what we know the “right thing” is in our bones. If there’s one thing we can all focus on right now it’s finding that clarity, inching towards apatheia however we can. It doesn’t take extreme productivity, just a willingness to be present and a desire to confront yourself.
A Quote I’m Considering:
How much more damage anger and grief do than the things that cause them.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 11.18
Weekend Reflection #39
What I’m Coming to Terms With: A New Plan
As the lockdown extends across the country our future plans begin to fray more and more. While We have all dealt with this in the short term, we are learning to let go of things far further ahead than we would have guessed. And in this mass rewriting of the future we are being forced into situations we never would have predicted, or worse, feared. For me, my plan has always been New York, Its where, at least for the time being, my career is pushing me towards. Pre-pandemic I had planned to make the jump in the early fall and hit the ground running. Now, of course, as the pandemic progresses, the ideal has shifted. Instead, I am faced with the risk of falling headfirst into a chaotic new life in the city or biding my time until things seem “safe” again. It’s a tough position to be in, but one a lot of us are facing, especially as college graduates. And while there is never an easy choice, we can all help ourselves by stepping back and realizing we never had any certainty in the first place and may never have it at all. It’s the hardest thing to do in life, become comfortable in uncertainty. But when we realize things will always be uncertain, we can take solace in the things we do have, and make the best of them. The answer is never in the future, but in how we address the present. A plan is never solid, but our outlook on the future can be.
An aphorism that’s been playing in my head:
Awards are best kept in the bottom drawer
Weekend Reflection #38
What I Accomplished: Graduating College
As I thought, it was anti-climactic. I did, however, think there would be more to say about it, and as much as I’m trying to come up with something worth saying I don’t really know what there is to say. I’ve never been especially fixated on big events or lifechanging moments. As far as I can tell I live in a kind of liminal place at all times which makes moments like this a little lackluster for me. Perhaps its something I’ve learned working in theater or maybe that’s just me. Or, maybe without a clear next phase in sight I simply haven’t registered any meaningful impact yet. In any case, I’m sure whatever is around the corner will be just as exciting.
My New Practice: Running
This is something I never expected to have a passion for. I absolutely hate running, or “hated” I suppose. In lieu of a gym and cardio equipment, I made the change to *shudder* running outdoors at the start of lockdown. A month in and suddenly I’ve found a passion for it. I’ve become one of those people obsessed with times and paces, measuring everything and every other annoying athletic habit you can think of. I’m sure this one is just a phase but for all intents and purposes its a good thing to get under my belt. I doubt It’ll ever become a lifelong obsession but who knows, at the very least its something to work towards right now.
Weekend Reflection #37
What I’m Reading: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
I found this book by way of a fantastic interview with one of my favorite authors, Michael Lewis. This lockdown has taken a toll on just about all of my habits, not the least of which reading. So looking at this thick book, though not massive, is a bit daunting. But I trust the judgment of Lewis, and perhaps a big, long piece of fiction is precisely what I need to pull myself out of this rut. The book, of course, is all too timely. Count Alexander Illyich, under orders from the Bolshevik government, is ordered into house arrest in a hotel for the remainder of his life. The novel follows his time spent in the walls of his 5-star prison, learning and adapting to life inside 4 walls, something we have all become too familiar with these past few months.
What I’m Working Towards: A Lockdown Routine
This has been a long time coming. Frankly, I should have started a clear routine much much earlier. But, I convinced myself that between classes and graduation, I would wait it out and see what I could get away with. Now, I have no excuses to make. Today is day one of that new routine. And that means a few things. First of all, it means getting back into the personal learning routine. Cracking open books and papers to try and get back in the water professionally. Secondly, it means more writing. I took a bit of a break from the blog, the pandemic depression made writing feel a bit useless, but if I didn’t get back it now, I knew I never would. While I’m not sure how much will end up on the blog or what form it will take, I’m hoping to get back to writing a bit more every day. Finally, it means a big reign in on my free time. I’ve been very, very liberal with my relaxation these past few weeks.
What I’m Coming to Terms With: Uncertainty
What comes next is a good question. A few things are brewing in the background, but nothing certain. That uncertainty has been an enormous drain, and I’m sure everyone is feeling some kind of existential dread about the future in their own way. The hard truth, of course, is that there is no real cure. Not a perfect one anyways. The reality of this pandemic is that we are all coming to terms with the real uncertainty that exists before us every day, lockdown, or no lockdown. The only difference now is that the odds didn’t play out in our favor. If this teaches us anything, its worth learning that we can only control so much. And, in a cruel twist, what we do have control over — our reactions — are the only panacea we have to that internal dread. Even then its not perfect. All we can do is manage our outlook and our reactions. The rest isn’t up to us. It’s a tough truth to come to term with but the cost of ignoring that fact is much much bigger than anything a pandemic ould throw at us.
Weekend Reflection #36
What I’m Re-Reading: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Last week I promised myself I’d pick up this book again. And so I have, but this time around I’m trying to be more deliberate about my read through. I’m taking the emperor’s journals on my daily walks. Reading a section or two a day and putting it aside to think on its contents. I first read this stoic handbook a little less than a year ago. I picked it up mostly out of curiosity and a few recommendations. At the time I had no idea what Stoicism really was. I blazed through it on the 4-hour train ride from New York to Boston and stuffed it away with my other books. But over time the book kept sneaking up on me and Stoicism became more and more apparent as a personal philosophy. Eventually, I picked up Seneca and Epictetus and I was floored by its relevance. Reading it back now its a world of change. Things that seemed esoteric now seem absolutely vital to its importance. As Heraclitus says, and Aurelius quotes: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”
What I’m Sprinting Towards: Graduation
It’s just around the corner. Although not physically graduating, I’m finished with my 4 years this coming Thursday. As with all hyped societal events it feels a little anti-climactic, but maybe that’s the pandemic’s fault. At this point, it feels more like dull anticipation, exciting, but muddled with “let’s just get this over with already.” While things aren’t exactly set in stone for the “after” everyone wants to know about, I’m not blind either. Its a little shaky but the future looks good or fun at the very least. That being said there’s only so many times I’m going to answer the question “what now?” in the next two weeks so get your tickets in now.
Weekend Reflection #35
What I’m Reading: Damned by Chuck Palahniuk
I completely forgot about this crazy, crazy book until passing it by on my Goodreads feed. I first read it back in high-school and never got around to picking up the sequel. For those who are unfamiliar, Palahniuk, who wrote Fight Club, and some more of my favorites, tends to write som pretty dark, twisted, but somehow enjoyable and meaningful novels. This one is no exception. Without giving away too much I’d best describe this book as a sort of Judy-Blume-Breakfast-Club in Hell. What seems like a fun commentary on hell and teenage-dom can actually reveal itself to pose some interesting questions about the nature of ego and our relation to death.
What I’m Doing for My Health: Going For Walks
Walks have always been a part of my routine. I tend to take the scenic route most places, take a long way home, skip the first train stop. So while it is something I do often, it’s always been a sort of natural part of my day, if not perhaps out of the way. So it was especially weird to go without that for the first few weeks of quarantine. Because walking had always been a thing I just did, I never had to make time for it or force myself to go out. Now, as the depression creeps up, I’m doing everything I can to make it a part of my day. I go out for 4 miles or so around sunset, maybe pop in an audiobook or just walk in silence and think. Its truly been liberating. Though the days are lacking motivation and I’m getting a little cranky, these walks have been a sort of equalizer for all of this craziness and it’s helped to keep some of the more dangerous demons at bay.
What I Need to Get Back To: Philosophy
It’s been tough to keep up with dense reading as my personal philosophy begins to wane with every day. Sometimes I’m tempted to dive back into hard-hitting topics or personal confrontations but find myself falling brain-dead pretty fast. So, to follow through, I am going to pick up my favorite Stoic text, Meditations, tomorrow. Hopefully, it will give me a new resurgence of energy. And yes, I know it sounds particularly desperate or perhaps even nerdy, but Marcus’ writing really does reach out to combat some of the very issues we are facing right now. And I think no matter the source, we could all use a kick in the ass about now. I recommend it to any of those who are even the slightest bit curious. At the very least to shake some of those misconceptions we all have about philosophy, particularly Stoicism.