Nathan Branson

The Boring, Mundane Parts of Adulthood and Identity in Christ

“No individual, by the very state of existence, can avoid life as a form of servitude; it only remains for us to decide, deny, or remain oblivious to, whom or what we serve.” ----Carolyn Weber

What do you do with the drudgery of adulthood? That moment on a Monday at 4pm and you realize that you will likely have to work Saturday in . . .

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December 28, 2021

Funerals Are the Best and Worst Kind of Reunion

A Reflection on my Brother's Wake Service

There are many reasons people do not attend the birthday party on Friday night, skip the informal college reunion or attend the local concert. Some are spoken clearly in text messages or in a short conversation after work, other reasons are never said aloud. Here are some of those potential reasons people give for not attending an event:

. . .

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June 08, 2018

What I Want Every One of My Students To Know on their First Day of Class

Every April I spend about 50 hours per week grading essays. That doesn't include other duties at my job. During those hours, I begin to take note of the good and bad habits of my students. As I grade I sit and ponder the personalities of my students: students who made an A in my class, students who do the bare minimum to pass, students . . .

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May 17, 2018

Five Memoirs that Guys in their Twenties Should Read

Stories That Help Make Sense of the Big Questions

I work on a regular basis with people between the ages of 17 and 25. As a community college English teacher, I am tasked with helping students write the 5-paragraph essay, find credible sources online and write clearly. I walk into work every day hoping to help students enjoy writing rather than viewing it as a soul-sucking chore. However, . . .

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June 04, 2017

Millennials: Addicted to the iPhone but Wanting to Know How to Live Without It

Are Millennials really in love with technology?

About 3-4 years ago my dad told me that some of guys who worked at his auto shop were so distracted by their IPhones that it was affecting their productivity. The "tire guys," who put new tires on cars and do the oil changes, were the ones he was concerned about. As a high schooler, I was a tire guy every summer, where, like NASCAR . . .

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January 21, 2017

Distraction is No Excuse for Millennial Adults

Four Tips to Help the Untrained Brain

As a college English teacher, I often hear students flippantly self-identify as being easily distracted. My students speak as if this is unusual and inevitable. It seems as if they’ve been taught that a distracted brain cannot be cured, outside of ADHD medication.

Being a 33-year-old American adult who is easily distracted, I . . .

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November 08, 2016

What To Do When You Lose Your Cam Newton-like Confidence in Your Mid-Twenties

What Growth Looks Like in Your Twenties

I graduated from college in May of 2006 from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. On that day back in 2006, with thousands of other college graduates, I was excited to enter the work world with intentions of shaping my own reality and entering the work world.

College fostered in me spiritual, professional, emotional and . . .

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July 29, 2016

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