Bradley Andrews

✍️ I have decided to publish the results of every personality test I’ve ever taken. But why?

I wrote a little about that, too:

When you first step into this universe of personality profiles, it can feel like it widens your perspective, giving you new insights into people, personalities, and the self. The first thing you do is go home and share it with your partner, your friends, or your family. Everybody takes the quiz and you all talk about each other’s quirks, fears, and strengths, laughing (or crying) at the results. In my estimation, this is where these tests shine— at the specious level, facilitating conversation and cultivating curiosity about the other. Yet, this rabbit hole is almond-shaped. The first few steps are widening, the next many are constricting. The further you go, the smaller the world gets, until all you see, speak, and do is the framework.

✏️ New Word Learned:

Bailiwick: a person’s or organization’s area of expertise, authority, or responsibility

✍️ Most people spend their lives trying to escape the block they grew up on; I’ve gotten mine tattooed on me. New post out now// bradley-andrews.com

The (909) used to be called the armpit of California. It is a place of widespread institutional bankruptcy, brown poverty, below average education rates, and the most crime-riddled city on the West Coast. Even the milder locations have a strange and surreal underbelly which was depicted by David Lynch of all people. Growing up, the IE had the worst air quality in the entire nation and at times I wonder if people can still smell the smog on me.

✏️ New Words Learned:

Spruik: an Australian and New Zealand slang verb that means to loudly promote, advertise, or pitch something

Scapegrace: an incorrigible rascal

Hornswoggled: to be tricked, cheated, or swindled in a clever or ridiculous way

✍️ New Blog Post Up Now // bradley-andrews.com

In the years post-cult, I’ve noticed a pattern among the spaces where people were willing to speak their mind. Generally speaking, the truth, when spoken, is not nearly as catastrophic as it is cathartic. It doesn’t come to people as a shock — it comes to them as a relief. When someone finally “says the thing”, it is like taking the lid off a pressure cooker, giving permission for people to act looser, less fearfully, and be less stressed.

✏️ New Word Learned:

Overmorrow: the day after tomorrow

Thank you to @miljko for putting it on the radar. And a reminder to everybody that you can find all vocab words in my Words and Writing category or filter for them by typing “✏️” into my search page.

✍️ New blog post up now // Everyone I Know, I Chose:

I was born and raised in Church. I was nurtured in a congregational setting and sustained by the friendships formed there. No matter your personal sentiments about faith, religion, or God, I hope you are willing to concede, at minimum, this simple understanding about what makes a church unique: A church is unique precisely because I cannot control who gets to be a part of it.

An imperfect post, but I hope it gets my point across. ❤️

✍️ Wrote a lil' something outlining the metaphor I use for creativity and indecision. There’s a knock-knock joke at the end I am quite proud of, too. Read the full thing here // bradley-andrews.com

Nothing I do can be classified as high-brow. I’ve been a generalist for so long that none of my skills are very deep. I have lived a lot of life and I have a lot experiences — but experiences don’t necessarily translate to craft. Craft, it seems, is what produces the excellence that really floors people. In Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche called it “long obedience in the same direction.”