Jashan Takhar Nonfiction Writing Blog

Secret Survival Strategies    From the ages four through seven, my biggest fear was undoubtedly tornadoes. It began one day when the local weatherman visited my old preschool to tell us about the dangers of extreme weather. He showed us pictures of all types of possible occurrences from thunderstorms to blizzards, but the one that stuck out to me the most was the tornado. I was captured in a trance by its sheer enormity, terrified, yet marveling at it at the same time. In the picture, a nearby farmhouse looked tiny compared to the huge twister. The weatherman warned us that tornadoes had the potential to destroy entire buildings. If you got caught in one, you could get a “boo-boo.” After the weatherman left, the kids in my class went back to play dinosaurs, but I sat at my seat solemnly, knowing that from that day on my number one mission in life would be to avoid tornadoes.  The same day, I immediately went home and built a pillow fort, reinforcing with the power of masking tape to ma

Is doing nothing a good use of your time? Whenever the word "nothing" is used in a conversation, it's usually used to lie with. "What are you doing?" you could ask someone. "Nothing," they would reply, while actively working on something. "What's going on?" you could ask. "Nothing much," they would reply, while something is very much going on. "Hello," you could say. "Nothing," they would reply. The last example is a dead giveaway that the other person is doing somethiing so important that they don't think it's worth even giving you an actual answer to your question. These days, nothing and something are more or less equal words.      But what about the true meaning of "nothing?" Nothing as in, you're sitting idle, silent, mind blank. Thinking about nothing, planning nothing, doing nothing. Not making the world a better place, nor a worse one in any way – simply existing. What a waste of

Self Control        Ideally, we all want to live as candidly as possible. Do the right thing, refrain from distractions, get an assignment done promptly, reach places on time. For some people, that's normal.       For me, obviously, that's not what  really  happens. What  really  happens is that I'm interrupted several times when I go about doing these things. By what, you may or may not ask? Myself. More specifically, a part of my brain. My brain overrides my actions with a new set of commands, which, at the given moment, seem more fun and more rewarding. For example, if I am about to read a book, I will instead, completely by accident, tell myself to surf the Internet. Also on accident, I happily oblige to this command. This idea carries over to my self control, or the lack thereof.       As much as I want to improve my self-control, my brain tells me that it's simply not worth it to be shackled to the importance of this area when it's so much easier to waste time

     What is the purpose of mail? As a child, mail held little value to me personally, as I knew that I could never sit down and get through whatever "dumb" paper came from the mailbox. These sentiments still hold, unfortunately. I would be asked to bring it sometimes, though, so that's all when I thought about it. When he asked me to tell him what the mail was about, I would clumsily tear open the envelope and read, "Blah blah blah, ok, can I throw it away now?" Mail was fascinating to me.       One day, my dad asked me to fetch the mail again. I rolled over to the mailbox on my scooter, already half-asleep opening it, expecting more "adult boring stuff". Instead, I was met by a brightly colored magazine with my favorite toy all over it: LEGOs. "Woahhhh," I said. I examined it closer. "LEGO Club" ran across the top of the cover. I immediately sprinted to my dad, who was a few feet away. Being highly athletic, I had to catch my brea

Embarrassing memories. If someone was having a good day, all that is needed is one mortifying memory to surprise them and suddenly pull their smile a little down. Or, if one is engaging in a highly focused activity, like a game-defining moment in the middle of a sports match, a single memory can tuck some insecurity behind that person's ear, lowering their focus and causing them to miss their chance. An awkward conversation, a missed opportunity, or a humiliating moment in public. Embarrassing memories always carefully plan to appear when they are least wanted to tarnish the progress of someone attempting to improve as a person.  In my case, the highest-stakes activity I would be interrupted in would likely be something along the lines of watching grass grow or staring at a wall if (I'm particularly busy that day). Unfortunately, when the memory hits, I have no choice but to pay my inexpensive attention to it.  Just the other day, a memory struck that upset me surprisingly