Don't Tell Us What to Do

Just trying to be a decent human in this brotherhood we call mankind. Storyteller, foodie, experimenter, and traveler. Instagram: joahamericano

[donttelluswhattodo]

The One Goal

“Hitherto there have been a thousand goals, for there have been a thousand peoples… the one goal is still lacking. Yet tell me, my brothers: if a goal for humanity is still lacking, is there not still lacking – humanity itself?” – Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietzsche I believe the line above speaks for itself, but it is a piece of philosophy that I have not myself ever encountered.…

[donttelluswhattodo]

Myths and Realities - On Bruce Lee

It is no secret to those who know me well that I am a fan of Bruce Lee – his films, certainly, but more so his lifestyle and philosophy. His mantra of “Be Water” has long carried me through difficult situations and as I have learned more about different schools of philosophy, I have applied its simplicity to a variety of complex scenarios in my life. Bruce inspires me every day. His belief in the…

[donttelluswhattodo]

Why Fish Don't Exist - A short review

When I decide to pick up a book, I generally do so with respect to finding and understanding its thesis: the central principle or idea that the author is trying to express, argue, explain, or narrate. Why Fish Don’t Exist certainly has a thesis, perhaps one of the most interesting I’ve ever encountered, but pinpointing it is a difficult task.  As a narrative, it’s clear and to the point, telling…

View On WordPress

[donttelluswhattodo]

The Colored Angel

If one were to get right up to the multicolored glass and peer through only one panel, one would see through it and beneath them a monochrome world. Down and to the right was the red bakery, where the red baker sold red loaves of bread to red mothers and red children. If one moved to another panel and looked to just beyond the bakery, one saw a blue garden. Blue flowers grew from blue grass,…

[donttelluswhattodo]

Razors, toxic masculinity, and politics

I remember seeing this advertisement a while back and that it caught a lot of heat and political attention from the public when it was initially released. To be clear, it’s an advertisement for Gilette razors, so there’s a necessary reality that they are trying to sell their razors. Political piggybacking as a means to sell a product is not uncommon, but it’s the public’s reaction that is more…

[donttelluswhattodo]

Destroying the Ego to Foster Creativity

Not long ago I managed to get through the massive book Tools of the Titans by Tim Ferris. While not everything in it was useful for me, it was interesting to dive deeper into the habits and practices of top performers in their respective fields. Arnold Schwarzenegger was a particular favorite of mine. One of the author’s interviewees was James Altucher, a successful businessman and author.…

[donttelluswhattodo]

Doing Nothing

“I have nothing to do today,” is a recurring thought that I find myself returning to lately. I am blessed and grateful to have a primary source of income that does not demand much of me outside of my working hours. I am also currently not attending school as I once was and so much of my time has been returned to me. Thus, I find myself faced with a duality; on one hand, I have the freedom to…

[donttelluswhattodo]

The Cake is Not Evil.

I was out to dinner the other day with my family with the intention of using a gift card we had received for the Cheesecake Factory. When the meal was over, we decided to try one of their cheesecakes – because, well, can you really go to a place called the Cheesecake Factory and not try a cheesecake? It was quite a nice experience, sitting there chatting with my dad at a restaurant we never…

[donttelluswhattodo]

A Little Life - Short Review

It feels impossible to sit down and try to summarize succinctly my thoughts on A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. After all, how does one summarize a life, and a novel that comes in at over 800 pages. Any sort of review would be an injustice to the author, the story she tells and its characters, as well as the difficult themes and ideas she explores in the novel.  As best as I can, A Little Life…

View On WordPress

[donttelluswhattodo]

Mistakes

I remember listening to the famous song “Wouldn’t it be nice” by the beach boys when I was a kid. The words sang “Wouldn’t it be nice if we were older, then we wouldn’t have to wait so long.” It’s a love song and I very much was in a state of youthful love at the time. It’s a dream that I also longed for at the time. My own wish to be older was from a desire to have clarity and freedom. That’s…

[donttelluswhattodo]

On Superheroes and how we spend our times

Superheroes Since the time of Ancient Greece, heroes have been idolized for the great strength and cunning. Achilles was admired for his bravery and strength. Batman runs a multinational billion-dollar corporation and somehow still manages to have steel-cut abs, a girlfriend, and save countless lives. Exactly how is Spiderman able to court MaryJane, be a brilliant scientist and photographer, and…

View On WordPress

[donttelluswhattodo]

Where Everyone Knows your Name

Here is a story that I am ashamed to admit took me much longer to work on than I care to admit. It’s a story that has been burning the pixels of my computer screen for well over a year… and perhaps a bit more than that. To be honest, after I finished writing it, I felt daunted to return to it. What if I didn’t like what I saw? Was the whole story-writing process a big, fat waste of time? I’m not…

View On WordPress

[donttelluswhattodo]

The Gathering of Winter

The call came late. It was around 3 in the morning in California and while Noah had not fallen asleep yet, he had already entered that state of calm serenity which found any disturbance equally as jarring as being woken up from a deep slumber.  The phone vibrated low and deep, but in the dark silence of his quiet studio apartment, it was loud and persistent. He put down the book he was reading…

[donttelluswhattodo]

Weight

This is a story I wrote for a short story contest around the middle of 2020. I wanted to share it here originally but I wasn’t allowed to due to the rules of the contest. Now that the contest is over (spoilers: I didn’t win) I thought it would be the perfect time to share it. It’s not without its imperfections, but I’m very proud of it. I’m going to be sharing a few of my old stories and posts…

[donttelluswhattodo]

Learning from conversations with old friends

How highly do we value a good education? For some, the idea of an education is perhaps the ultimate of virtues because it informs all the rest and, one hopes, can guide one through a life well lived.  The following may sound familiar. A common dictum is that one should never stop learning, whether formally or from the school of life itself. If one wants to keep a marriage thriving, those of us…

[donttelluswhattodo]

Why I ritualized Friday Nights

Back when I worked at a school in the countryside on the outskirts of Shenzhen, China, I established and followed a basic and simple daily routine. My day would usually go something like this: I would wake up early during weekdays for a sunrise jog around the school’s track (admittedly this was only if I could be bothered), teach classes or lesson plan all day, lift weights during lunch or after…

[donttelluswhattodo]

While you were sleeping, I was in quarantine

After more than a year since visiting, I once again find myself in South Korea – a place that feels like an adoptive home. Admittedly, it is an interesting and perhaps downright foolish time to travel here. While the world is still struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic (although it appears we now have a vaccine!), I decided to leave the relative safety of my family’s home and take a 20-hour trip…