Nathan Box
Bio
I am a reader, writer, hiker, cinephile, music fanatic who finds himself constantly searching for the next grand adventure.
Stories (23)
Filter by community
2020 & The Return
It is a cold and wet Saturday night. A few remaining leaves hold tightly to the trees outside our window. Their battle is just a matter of time. Watching the rainfall over the valley from our third-floor apartment, I contemplate how typical this scene is for the Pacific Northwest this time of the year. I foolishly fumble for my phone. I am alone within these walls. Brandon is working or out with friends. It is becoming increasingly hard for me to tell the difference between the two. I find myself wishing longingly for a text or a call to break the silence. I am not twenty anymore, so I don’t need the conversation to lead to immediate plans. I just need to know someone/anyone is thinking of me. The call never comes. The vibration is never felt. My presence isn’t needed anywhere in the city tonight. Much like the weather this time of year, this too has become typical of my return to Seattle.
By Nathan Box4 years ago in Confessions
Dear Lucas (2021)
This will be my final annual letter to you. It will not be the last time I write about you, mental health, suicide prevention, or any other subject encapsulated in this universe. It will just be the final time I sit down on the eve of your passing with the intention of searching for a lesson to be found in your sudden loss and sharing it with the world.
By Nathan Box4 years ago in Humans
Back in Seattle
For four years, I carried a tired Moleskine notebook with me. Daily, I would flip through its pages, jotting notes for story ideas, and planning content for my website. As a writer, this notebook is my whole world. In reality, it might be my most prized possession.
By Nathan Box5 years ago in Confessions
6 Years with Brandon
I am engaged. I never thought I would be able to publicly utter this sentence. I never thought this sentence would be celebrated for me. I never thought well-wishes would come from all corners of the map and from people of all backgrounds. Luckily for me, the times changed and so did I.
By Nathan Box5 years ago in Humans
Capitalism, Part IV
Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, a price system, private property, and the recognition of property rights, voluntary exchange, and wage labor.
By Nathan Box5 years ago in Humans
Yearview Mirror (2020)
In a year when so much of our misery was a shared experience, it would be much easier to think about all we have lost this year when approaching an end of the year letter. Personally, I think we have suffered enough. I have suffered enough. Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of this year, I want to focus on five unexpected gifts this year gave me. After reading my list, I want to challenge you to do the same.
By Nathan Box5 years ago in Humans
My Skin Color
If I am reading American and world history correctly, I see a world shaped greatly by the harm caused by people who look like me. In my own country, I see lynchings, exclusionary acts, separate but equal policies, slavery, internment, genocide, chemical castration, xenophobia, and nationalism. Looking more broadly across the globe, I see colonialism, eugenics, anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, Apartheid, and much more.
By Nathan Box5 years ago in The Swamp
Not That Different
I know this is a big ask, but for a brief moment in time, step outside your moral convictions or religious beliefs. In this post, I want you to judge a relationship on your experience. Over the next few paragraphs, I want you to judge my relationship by your relationship. Judge us by what popular culture has taught you. Judge us by what you know to be true about all that is necessary for a healthy relationship to prosper. As we weave our way through this exercise, know that tolerance of something you cannot morally accept, but are willing to celebrate from a distance is not my goal. In the end, I want you to understand we are not that different.
By Nathan Box5 years ago in Humans
Dear Lucas (2020)
Today is election day in the United States of America. As people read this, their minds will be elsewhere. They will be thinking of all that is at stake tonight and for the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. Someone will win. Someone will lose. America’s unofficial sport will shift its focus. Some will play offense. Some will play defense. The beat that is American democracy will go on methodically until the next contest.
By Nathan Box5 years ago in Families
Before I Kick the Bucket
With each passing year, I find myself more focused on the end. It frustrates me to know what I do not know. When I face the end of my life, I have no way of knowing when, my condition, or what will remain unaccomplished. With the unknown before me, I find myself constantly readjusting my bucket list. Once upon a time, I could have listed a hundred or so things I wanted to accomplish before the final curtain. Now, the list is much smaller and is defined by some overarching themes.
By Nathan Box5 years ago in Motivation
