From the archive

Don't try

Haven’t you read Manson’s _The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F_ck*? At the beginning, he says one simple thing: “Don’t try.” Just be yourself. Don’t try to appear to be something more or less than you are. You are you. Normis. Honestly, I don’t fully understand the meaning of this word. Ordinary? Normal? An insult? I don’t see anything wrong with accepting an ordinary life. In Rashka and the CIS countries, my standard of living is above average, at least in terms of income — more than $10,000 a month. But for someone living in Austria or the US, that’s closer to the lower middle class. As for health, I’m not dying; I don’t have cancer. Does that make me above average, too? Though my teeth are in terrible shape. Am I well known and popular? No, if you look at it from the perspective of Anya Taylor-Joy. Yes, if you look at it through the eyes of Vasya, a mechanic from Saratov, who plays World of Tanks and drinks after work.