October 28, 2025
“I’m bored.”
I can’t remember the last time I felt that—or said it out loud. But it used to be one of my most-used phrases, one that I’m sure my mom grew tired of hearing. “I’m bored,” I’d tell her once I’d exhausted all my menial tasks, like picking up the markers I’d left out on the table or finishing the book I’d started the week before. I’d bother her with my antics about having nothing to do, sitting in the kitchen while she stirred the pot on the stove. Twenty minutes later, I’d jump out of my chair and run to my room, a boredom cure having suddenly popped into my head.
The year was 2008, and like most weekends, I had ended up at my cousins’ house. After the typical greetings and catching up on whatever novelties our elementary school selves had to share, we were again faced with the same dilemma: boredom. There was no “easy fix”—no TikToks or Reels to scroll through and pass the time. Even movies felt too slow for our hyperactive minds. So, the ideation began. Born out of desperation to do something, three hours later we’d be upstairs surrounded by blanket forts and makeshift structures, inventing elaborate games that had us running, laughing, and playing until we were red-faced, sweating, and exhausted.
October 28, 2025
“I’m bored.”
I can’t remember the last time I felt that—or said it out loud. But it used to be one of my most-used phrases, one that I’m sure my mom grew tired of hearing. “I’m bored,” I’d tell her once I’d exhausted all my menial tasks, like picking up the markers I’d left out on the table or finishing the book I’d started the week before. I’d bother her with my antics about having nothing to do, sitting in the kitchen while she stirred the pot on the stove. Twenty minutes later, I’d jump out of my chair and run to my room, a boredom cure having suddenly popped into my head.
The year was 2008, and like most weekends, I had ended up at my cousins’ house. After the typical greetings and catching up on whatever novelties our elementary school selves had to share, we were again faced with the same dilemma: boredom. There was no “easy fix”—no TikToks or Reels to scroll through and pass the time. Even movies felt too slow for our hyperactive minds. So, the ideation began. Born out of desperation to do something, three hours later we’d be upstairs surrounded by blanket forts and makeshift structures, inventing elaborate games that had us running, laughing, and playing until we were red-faced, sweating, and exhausted.
