John Smith
Bio
Man is mortal.
Stories (72)
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War on Terror
I still remember the first time the world felt like it was burning around me. I was twelve, sitting in my parents’ living room, watching planes hit towers on TV. Smoke filled the screen, but the fear seeped into our home. My dad sat frozen, my mom gripped her tea so tightly I thought it might shatter. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t sleep. I kept imagining what it would be like if it happened somewhere near me. Somewhere I could see it, feel it.
By John Smitha day ago in The Swamp
The Art of War
I bought The Art of War because I was angry. Not at the world. At myself. I was stuck in a job I secretly resented, constantly frustrated, constantly reactive. Every meeting felt like a battlefield. Every disagreement felt personal. I kept losing arguments — not out loud, but internally. I would replay conversations in my head at night, thinking of better comebacks I never said.
By John Smith28 days ago in Geeks
What My Parents Got Wrong — And What They Got Right
For a long time, I thought my parents got almost everything wrong. That’s dramatic, I know. But when you’re twenty-two, broke, and trying to figure out who you are, it’s easy to turn your childhood into a courtroom. Every rule becomes evidence. Every “because I said so” becomes a scar.
By John Smithabout a month ago in Families
An Unsent Letter to Someone I Lost
I still have your number saved. I don’t know why I haven’t deleted it. Maybe because deleting it would feel too final. Maybe because some small, irrational part of me still believes one day my phone will light up with your name.
By John Smithabout a month ago in Humans
why I read Banned Books
The first time I picked up a banned book, I felt like I was doing something illegal. My palms were actually sweating. It was just a paperback. No alarm wires. No secret cameras. Just a story someone, somewhere, had decided other people shouldn’t read.
By John Smithabout a month ago in Geeks
