The Side Effect of John Green

Many of you know how mad I fangirl TFIOS. (It's super mad. It's mad, mad, and mad). But I bet a few of you know why I adore John Green like mad. Is it because he’s a great author, close to being a superauthor? Well, yes. In writing TFIOS, he is a superauthor. But sadly, I don’t dig his other books.

There’s more to it to me than him being a superauthor. It‘s his other quality, the one that makes him a superman, the one that lands him in TIME 100, the one that earns him a worldwide reputation as the most lovable author, the rock god in literary world.
He connects with young people, teens, and adolescents. He inspires them, motivates them to do good, to do creative, to live fully to their talents. He unites them under nerdfighter and dftba and other stuff.

Yes, there are many great authors out there, even greater than one John Green, but did any of those move people, young people especially, as positively, as fiercely as John and Hank? I doubt it. This is what set him apart from the other celebrities. He’s doing this, with his own hands. Not just talking or hiring somebody to do it for him. He does it himself.

Just like what Shailene wrote in his Time 100 dedication.
“But he doesn’t just listen to young adults. He treats every human he meets as their own planet, rather than simply one of his moons. He sees people with curiosity, compassion, grace and excitement.”


If you think this quality is nonworthy, just think for minute. You think influencing and motivating and talking to teens are easy? That understanding them is piece of cake? I can’t even manage one teen who lives under the same roof as me, let alone millions of them worldwide. Regardless of other quality or misquality that John Green might possess, we must admit that he’s a good influence to young people. And in the midst of uncertainties and other negativity in the world we live in, some good no matter how small, is still good.
And that’s why I adore John Green.
This, my friends, is the force of John Green. TFIOS is just the side effect of John Green.


My husband wonders if my obsession with John Green would ever die down. I don’t know. Guess we need to find out.

Happy TFIOS day, everyone!


June 6, 2014

Big, High, and Almighty

My six year old daughter told me yesterday, "I want to change my last name."

Me (rolled eyes dramatically): Yeah? To what?

Daughter : Obama. My name would be Nina Obama.

Me (laughed, and then stayed speechless)

Moral of the conversation :
"If you have a dream, aim it high, big, and almighty. Don't settle for a second best."

Here's the Thing

Here’s the thing.

This is a lovely box. My friends used this box to put my birthday present inside. I remembered that the gift was lovely, just as lovely as the box. That’s why I keep them both all these years.

Last night, my six year old daughter pulled the box out from under piles of boxes in our storage and brought it to me and asked if she could use it for her art. My daughter is known for her growing talent in transforming junks into creative, beautiful arts, and last night, holding the box in her tiny hands, looking at me with creative fire in her eyes, she told me she wanted to use that box to make some Lion King’s masks. It means she would cut the box, splash paints and God knows what all over it, shred some of it, all in the name of making her art.

I said no. When she whined, I snapped, “Don’t ruin the box. If you want to make something, find yourself some other ugly junks.”

Translation : My box is prettier than your upcoming art.

I think I broke her heart a little last night.

I found her a nice shoebox after that and she quietly retreated back into her room and created her arts. She cut, she tore, she painted, she glued, and she created. She’s done it all with a slight gloom on her face, and I know why. She thinks I thought her arts were junks.

Don’t do what I did.


Here’s the thing.
It’s just a goddamn box in a storage full of junks.
Next to it is my kid’s creative heart.

I should have known which one was more important.