Note Taken — Hannah Buck

FOMO. Fear of missing out. Ever heard of it? I don’t have a lot of phobias. Yeah, being alone in a dark room creeps me out, but I’m not afraid of needles, heights, snakes, public speaking, or even dying. When my boyfriend and I get…

This afternoon, while browsing the fiction shelves at a local bookstore, I saw my own ghost. As I turned over a colorful paperback copy of Meg Wolitzer’s “The Uncoupling,” a small, optimistic cough flew past my left ear. At first, one. Then…

While making small talk with a friend last weekend, I asked what she had done that day. She shared that she had gone to class, worked in her professor’s research lab, and hung out with another friend — all before our conversation at 4 p.m. “Dang,…

There’s a certain amount of pride that often accompanies the proving of one’s own capability. In other words, exceeding someone’s expectations is literally the best. Sometimes, the “someone” you’re aiming to prove wrong isn’t on your team — they anticipate your failure because they think you’re lame. (Sad!) Other times, they…

Cystic fibrosis is nasty. Bacteria makes my breath stink. Malabsorption makes me fart a lot. I cough so much that my face turns red, and blobs of mucus often fly out of my mouth and onto the shirts and/or pants of those standing in my general area. If I could…

I’ve always known that I wanted to be a writer. There were some rebel years, of course — short-lived times growing up when I claimed to have aspirations of teacher-hood or superstardom. There was even a year when I wanted to be a hydrologist, as I couldn’t seem…