essays by ryan minic

The Skill of Facing Rejection

The first girl I ever asked out was in the 7th grade. It was at a school dance. For some reason, they always played Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” as the last song. Everyone slow-danced to it. I bolted across the gym to Sara when the guitar...

How I Think About Failure

I love the song “All I Do Is Win.” It’s got a catchy hook and underscores one of the central themes of American culture: We’re a society obsessed with winning. We’re taught as kids that winning is good and losing is bad. It’s ingrained in us. We revel when we win but...

Self-Reliance in a Digital World

When I was four years old, I had surgery on my lower back. I spent months in the hospital and longer doing physical therapy. I hated physical therapy. As part of the rehab process, I exercised with parallel bars every morning. It was to keep my muscles from stiffening...