Jamie's Blog

I am about eleven years old. I walk into my class, pull out my wooden chair, and sit down at my wooden desk. I put my hands into the shelf and pull out my books. I look down and see a cockroach, twirling its nasty antennae at me. I did a half-gasp — you know, the kind where you’re startled for...

I’m skeptical. I pride myself in being a logical person. Lately, I’ve been facing a challenge —  one of gratitude. It started with a story. You know, one of those stories where the author starts off with the worst day possible and when things really hit rock bottom, they decided to do the...

There are many stories about depression. The dark times, the empty void, the downward spiral. Yet, many triumphant survivors tell of their success. How they beat depression. How they overcame depression. How they came back out stronger, better, happier and healthier. But what about those...

Last week, a 13 year old girl jumped to her death. The school press release said the girl had good grades, was outgoing and well-liked by teachers and peers, and was a part of the school choir and badminton team. Young people dying from suicide elicits a deep, deep sense of tragedy like no...

Hello future-Jamie, I am sitting on a yoga mat next to some Tibetan singing bowls. How did I even get here? It’s been 8 weeks now and I’m supposed to write something really profound about what I’ve learnt and wish to remember. I hope my 8-weeks’ worth of mindfulness classes didn’t go to waste and...

Humans have a tendency to swing between wanting both extremes — on one hand, we want to be different; on the other, we desperately want to belong. Depending on which side of the pendulum we are swinging, singularity can be captivating, beautiful, and desirable. But it can also become unbearably...

I was once the new kid in class, and that was not fun. I had just moved from Accra, Ghana to Adelaide, Australia. Of the many things that made it a horrible experience, a couple stuck in my brain: 1. Nobody in my class knew where Ghana was and upon realising it was in Africa, proceeded to ask...

The dark, gloomy aesthetics and the unsettling soundtrack had me leaving Blade Runner 2049 feeling disturbed, pessimistic, and full of questions about the future of our society. It also got the nerd in me thinking a lot about existentialism and our eternal battle for meaning. Officer KD6.3–7 ...