I am bored. Not the kind of bored where I have nothing to do either, the other kind. The kind where a million things are going on at the same time and yet none of them seem to interest me. Work. Sleep. Repeat. Work. Sleep. Repeat. There is a certain beauty to having a routine; few things light up my brain more than having a full calendar with each 15-minute block of my day filled in with vague descriptions like "Eat Lunch," "Do Laundry," and "Work-Out." And yet, I feel like one of those mid-20th-century computers that took up a whole room — punch card in, output computations out — a mindless automaton, a cog in the machine, in other words, basically very meh.

I will always be eternally grateful for all the opportunities in my life, but with those opportunities comes the sinking feeling that I am not doing enough. I know I am not alone when I ask myself, am I wasting my time? Could I be doing something more? In the 21th-century, we have been taught to believe that rest is among the worst possible sins for the modern hard-working individual. If you are doing nothing, you are not moving. Like a shark, at least half of your brain must always be active. Keep swimming or you will die. Whenever I try to take a break, the words of my grandfather echo in my head — the same words my mom would repeat when I would tell her I was too tired to do chores — "Rest is for the dead, now get to work."

Is this mentality healthy? No, of course not! My grandfather died when he was only 54 years old. Had he taken a break from time to time, he might have lived to see the fruits of his labor. But still, maybe it is in my genes (is strong-headedness dominant or recessive?), I want to do more work. Am I mad for wanting to make the most of my time? For wanting to go to bed each night exhausted, but happy knowing that I made something new? For believing that the good life is not one of the dolce far niente but "hard work worth doing?"

Despite the chaos that was 2020 — RIP Kobe (and everyone else) — the year also allowed me to do one of the coolest challenges I have ever done, writing 30 Articles in 30 Days. So, of course, like a Hollywood executive with no better ideas, I think it is time for a sequel. The first time I did the challenge, my biggest fear was that I would fail. This time around, I am super cocky. A 30-day writing challenge? Hah! I can do it in my sleep. Even so, it is the new-found confidence that worries me. I do not want to walk through the motions and turn this project into another automated experience. The goal is to experience the joie de vivre that I have been missing in other parts of my life through this writing experience and not simply add another meaningless task to my already lengthy list of meaningless tasks.

The rules for this challenge are simple for the next 30 days ending on March 31, 2021, I will write a new article every day. No rest on weekends. No writing articles in advance. Each day a new piece, written solely on that day. Will part deux be a success? Or will this project be dead before the Ides of March? Follow me on my writing journey to find out!