Tag: Creative Nonfiction

My Fellow White People

On By Perpetually Past DueIn Editorial, Personal, Writing7 Comments

My fellow white people, let’s perform a thought experiment, shall we?

Imagine: A video is released of an unarmed white man taken into custody for a non-violent crime who is lying on the ground, subdued by a black police officer who is placing his knee into the white man’s neck.

We hear the subdued, unarmed white man on the ground struggling for breath, begging through strained breath the black officer for minutes to take the pressure off before falling unconscious.

The white man loses his life; the black police officer only loses his job.

Would you not rage? Would you not stand in righteous defiance of a system that clearly failed to bring justice for someone who died in the custody of those who are supposed to protect us? Would you not cry out, make your voice heard, and exercise your right to assemble?

Of course you would; but that isn’t what happened.

George Floyd was an unarmed black man; Derek Chauvin was a white police officer. This was only the latest example of a problem inherent in our society that we are all too aware of; but while many white voices joined in solidarity to call for justice, many of us did not. Continue reading “My Fellow White People” →

Are You Ok, Cupid?

On By Perpetually Past DueIn Personal, Writing41 Comments

When people hear the name “Cupid”, they usually picture a winged, infant archer who brings love, lust, and romance. I have come to think of him as a smirking little brat who enjoys setting up the select few while making the rest of us fumble through forced icebreakers, awkward dates, and the eventual repetition of it all.

Since beginning my online dating journey in 2014, I have: been on five dating sites, three dating apps, gone on five actual dates, been catfished twice, and entered zero relationships, meaningful or otherwise. I have spent hundreds of dollars over the last five years in membership fees with close to nothing to show for it. I have tried to put almost every permutation of my personality into my profiles: my humor, my intention for a serious relationship, my likes and dislikes; all to no avail.

So what’s the appeal? Is it just a game where you swipe through and shop for a person? When is it reduced to sending a message in the hopes of a response notification that shoots dopamine to your brain without understanding that there is another person on the other side of those messages? Perhaps it is the last hope of those of us fighting the gravity of the realization that we may be single forever. Sure, there are plenty of fish in the sea, but what happens when no one thinks you’re a catch worth keeping?

Continue reading “Are You Ok, Cupid?” →

What It Means to Be Alone

On By Perpetually Past DueIn Personal, Writing66 Comments

It is a strange thing to look around and come to the realization you are alone; it is even more strange to comprehend that you don’t mind it being this way. But how did you get here? Did everyone leave you, or was it a slow process of elimination until you were the only one left? Isolation can be comforting, especially for introverts, but is it healthy? At what point does cynicism overrule optimism and force you to accept your isolation? They say that hindsight is 20/20, so let’s take a look back at how this came to be, and what it means to be alone.

Continue reading “What It Means to Be Alone” →

When You Are Engulfed in Flames – Review

On By Perpetually Past DueIn Book review, Writing18 Comments

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

Published in 2008

Pages: 323

Genre: Creative nonfiction

“My friend Patsy was telling me a story.”

Stories are what elevate much of the human experience, and it is the mark of a masterful storyteller to help their listeners or readers forget their problems and escape into a different world; this is true not only in fiction, but creative nonfiction as well. When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris, is a collection of creative nonfiction essays that cover everything from coming out as a gay man in order to avoid an awkward hitchhiking situation to arguing the validity of different unknown artists with his parents as a child. The collected stories make for an entertaining read that gives the reader a look into a perspective different than their own. Continue reading “When You Are Engulfed in Flames – Review” →

Tuesdays with Morrie – Review

On By Perpetually Past DueIn Book review, Writing12 Comments

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Published in 1997

Pages: 192

Genre: Nonfiction, memoir

“The last class of my old professor’s life took place once a week in his house, by a window in the study where he could watch a small hibiscus plant shed its pink leaves.”

Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom, is probably one of the most famous works of writing to come out of the 1990s. After being diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a professor of sociology decides to use the remaining time he has to spread a message of love and hope. Throughout this process, he is reunited with a former student who helps him as he makes the transition toward his next journey after life. Continue reading “Tuesdays with Morrie – Review” →

In Cold Blood – Review

On By Perpetually Past DueIn Book review, Writing3 Comments

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Published in 1966 (Originally serialized in four parts in 1965)

Pages: 343

Genre: Creative nonfiction, true crime

“The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call “out there.”

If asked, none of the citizens of Holcomb could have imagined even the slight possibility of what would occur on November 15th, 1959. In Cold Blood tells of the grisly murder of the Clutter family by ex-convicts Perry Smith and Richard Hickock. Written by Truman Capote, the book follows the events of the crime all the way through to the conviction and execution of the murderers. Along the way, however, character studies into the minds of the criminals show the mental instability that was present to drive two men to such a gruesome act.

Smith and Hickock.jpg Continue reading “In Cold Blood – Review” →