Chosen for Further Reading (September 2021)
A few brilliant stories from The Masterpiece
Some stories are so wonderful that you cannot resist the temptation of reading them again and again. Because you just love that reading experience to stay with you longer. In the last month, we have published some outstanding stories that are exactly like this.
They will give you food for thought and enhance your understanding of yourself and the world you are living in.
You’ll come to know how anxiety saved Venessa Amber‘s life and how an ordinary butcher Nusret became the world-famous Salt Bae with a $70 million net worth. Esther George will tell you that you do deserve to get that phone call.
How about Lisa Alexander’s The Queen? I can’t tell you how emotionally engaging that story is. It will certainly make you think deep. And if you want to find yourself smiling while reading a text, Walter Bowne is there with his story “Now What Castle Was That Again?”
Mike Alexander, one of my favorite writers on Medium, shares his thoughts on how creativity is an addiction and why we continue practicing it even when there is little or no monetary value. In another piece, he raises a thoughtful question — Is Dying a Right?
Agnes Simigh shares an incredible story of an Indian who devoted his entire life to break a taboo.
Well, are you looking for some hard truths? Read Aman Arora’s A Heartfelt Letter To Parents From Children. And finally, Randomly Useful puts some light on how it is to be an introvert in this loud and noisy world.
So, why waiting? Pick the ones you love from below and start reading right away. Have a lovely reading experience!
How Anxiety Saved My Life
written by Venessa Amber
Even in the present moment, I was looking forward. I was always thinking about what was next and planning my schedule instead of focusing on what was right in front of me. Between a full course load, two jobs, and serious sleep deprivation — I was missing out on my life, and the emotion I was feeling most was anxiety.
All I ever wanted to do was “make it”. That was the mentality going into college, “I am going to make it”. At the time, all that meant was to graduate and find a job that paid well. My biggest fear was failing and the thought of disappointing anyone sent me spiraling. Anxiety attacks became a regular part of my life and the heart stilling ache of anxiety sat with me daily.
Salt Bae — How an Ordinary Butcher Turned Into the Meat King (with $70 Million Net Worth)
written by S M Mamunur Rahman
Between 2007 and 2010, Nusret visited different countries including, Argentina and the United States, and worked in local restaurants for free. Yes, you read it right — for free. Why did he do that? Well, he did that only to learn and become a great chef. He also had a dream of opening restaurants of his own.
It was never easy for him — I mean, the path was not smooth at all. Just to let you know that he was refused to get a US visa nine times.
After returning to Turkey in 2010, he did the obvious — he opened his first restaurant. But it was not at all that lucrative as it has only eight tables. Then one day, a wealthy Turkish businessman named Ferit Sahenk found his food extraordinary and thus decided to invest in Nusret’s restaurants.
This Is Why You Do Deserve To Get That Phone Call
written by Esther George
Let’s be honest, how often are you away from your phone? If you’re an ordinary folk, I bet you carry your phone everywhere. There is no need to mention the times when you’re having dinner, standing in line at the grocery store, busy at work, or socializing with friends. You constantly give in to the temptation to pull out and paw on your phone.
When you head to the bathroom, you clutch your phone along to do some mindless scrolling while on the toilet. The only place we’d expect to be at the moment, we’re not.
And don’t start with the ‘I’m not good on the phone kind of person.’ That excuse was so last century. If you can’t talk, shoot a text. If you can’t text, send an image, a voice memo, anything.
The Queen
written by Lisa Alexander
I had been seeing Ada every Wednesday for almost three years. Initially, she was one of my hospice patients, but after about two months her health improved enough for her to lose the terminal diagnosis. But by that time, I was too attached to her, and I told her I was going to keep seeing her.
She told me that if they wouldn’t let me come, she would hold her stomach and pretend to be ill, so she could still meet with me. Eventually, I stopped volunteering for hospice. It was just too sad to meet people and then have them die. But I continued to see Ada.
At this point, our conversations had started to become more than just her complaining about her predicament. When I first started to visit her, she would keep repeating, “I have nothing. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know why God keeps me around.”
“Now What Castle Was That Again?”
written by Walter Bowne
She was, after all, my first legitimate girlfriend. Crazy, right? For twenty-six years I had plenty of time to travel and to conjure fantasies of a knight leading his lady fair around the Old World. Such travels could not be by horse — as we’re both highly allergic to horses. Animals, also, sense my fear and trepidation toward higher life forms.
The horsepower of a four-cylinder, bright blue Ford Fiat, however, with a manual shift and the driver’s seat on the — well, the wrong side, maneuvered quite well in my hands.
Sorry, Brits. Was it indeed Napoleon’s fault at Waterloo for not wanting to clash swords while parading in defeat against the victorious Duke of Wellington? Or were British professors wrong?
Our Addiction to Creativity
written by Mike Alexander
Some years ago, my wife was seriously ill and I closed my business and moved near to a hospital where we could fully engage in the harrowing business of fighting her way back to health.
As is so often the case when confronted by calamity, we did a great deal of soul searching and promised ourselves that if we made it through that long dark tunnel, we would do something different with our lives; something more meaningful — to us at least.
Now my life is divided between writing and craft making. It has been one of the most economically devastating decisions I have ever made, and one that I least regret.
A Heartfelt Letter To Parents From Children
written by Aman Arora
Dear Parents,
We didn’t tell you or demand you to give us birth.
We didn’t tell you or demand you to make so many sacrifices or compromises. If I am not wrong, you did it out of your love for us, didn’t you?
And you probably gave us birth out of your own free will, if you believe in such a thing, or due to societal obligations, or your parents forced you or your thinking forced you but we certainly didn’t.
A Heartfelt Letter To Parents From Children
Please open your eyes and help us do the same
medium.com
The Man Who Devoted His Life to Break the Taboo of Menstruation In India
written by Agnes Simigh
It all started in the Indian city of Coimbatore in 1998. The 29-year-old fresh husband, Arunachalam Muruganantham, noticed that his wife, Shanti, hid something behind her back. It was a dirty rag. So dirty that the man thought he would not even use it to clean his bike, but his wife used it during her menstruation.
The man ran to the local shop, where he asked for sanitary pads. The shopkeeper nervously wrapped it in newspaper and handed it over to Arunachalam as if it was some illegal stuff.
However, Shanti refused the much more hygienic sanitary pads because it was much costlier and his husband’s involvement in women’s things embarrassed her. Most Indian families could not afford to buy pads.
Is Dying a Right?
written by Mike Alexander
I was still working for this couple when the husband died. Frail, and often lonely, the widow joined the Right to Die Society. She had, she decided, no reason to go on living. The whole concept made for fascinating conversations whenever I was with her.
Once a month, she would climb into her little car and jaunt off to her meeting with ‘the society’ as she called it. There, over coffee and cake, she and a dozen or so other would-be dead people would sit around and discuss their rights which were being blocked by French legislation.
They would also exchange tips and advice on how to seamlessly leave this planet.
My Experience of Being an Introvert
written by Randomly Useful
It’s really easy to look up the word introvert and see that the definition is someone who is shy or quiet. Obviously I’m not going to say that’s flat-out wrong. It’s in the dictionary after all, but unfortunately, I feel like things are not so black and white.
I know it sounds crazy but I didn’t realize how introverted I am until very recently. And I think this is is an unbelievably valuable thing to know about yourself whether you’re introverted or not. I’m just gonna speak for myself here.
Understanding who I am and, more crucially, how I operate has been a very confusing but important process for me. I feel like as I figure these things out little by little I’ve been able to make better decisions for myself and where I put my time. At my age it feels like there’s a lot of social pressure to be very sociable with people.
Thank you for reading.
If you want to read more, you may check out the following links.
- Chosen for Further Reading (August 2021)
- Chosen for Further Reading (July 2021)
- Chosen for Further Reading (June 2021)
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