Understanding Nonsense - a Column by Willian Ryan

Those of us who have cystic fibrosis (CF) each has a story about the first time we felt different from the other kids. That moment tends to have a huge impact on the rest of our lives and how we interpret every interaction with strangers and loved ones alike.

When I was a kid, my goal was to play second base for my favorite baseball team, the New York Yankees. When I realized that I couldn’t hit a baseball, arguably the hardest thing to do in any sport, I stopped playing. I also stopped playing basketball about the same…

Being hospitalized for any length of time is a never-ending grind that never ceases to amaze me, both in good and annoying ways. I wouldn’t say bad, necessarily, but it definitely feels like I’m in a hamster wheel at times. As I write this, I’ve been in the hospital for…

I don’t know about you, but I constantly sweat the small stuff. It’s probably not healthy and makes me come across as a control freak. If left in my hands, I do my best to be punctual. I get irritated, with physical effects, if I’m late. Sometimes, when life puts…

My two best friends love to wake me up every day around 6 a.m. They’re hungry and a little thirsty from a good night’s sleep. They’ll hang around in the kitchen and wait for me to give them their breakfast, and when they’re done, they both have to go to…

This past March, I found myself in Baltimore to get my nose swabbed. “Isn’t that a little out of the way for a COVID-19 test? You’re from New Jersey. Baltimore is hours away!” Well, I can assure you that it wasn’t a COVID-19 test, nor a regular nose swab. In…

I’m the proud product of a Jesuit education. For eight years, I studied under the tutelage of wise educators who were Jesuits, a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church that was formed by St. Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century. The modern calling card of Jesuit education is…

I’m going to declare my opinion that LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends” is the best song of the 2000s. The song, which is only two notes and about seven and a half minutes long, pulls me in and doesn’t let me go. It’s melancholic, nostalgic, and ready for…

There is never an ideal way to encounter survivor’s guilt. It’ll be foisted upon you like a dumpster on your front porch. It’s unnecessary baggage that you didn’t know you’d have to carry, but now it’s here. I think it’s ultimately a selfish feeling, but sometimes we all have selfish…

In a 1993 commercial for Nike, NBA star and 1992 Olympics hero Charles Barkley declared, “I am not a role model.” The commercial was controversial and garnered backlash, but Barkley was right. He wasn’t a role model. Although a lot of the country, myself included, adore Barkley’s ability…