HeyJaredhow to be in your 20's
Morally gray person giving life advice and social commentary for 20-somethings. Bi-weekly essays on making the best of career, identity, and social life. Cultural critique.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 6
- Latest publication
- Sep 18, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 10, 2026
Latest issues
How To Help A Friend Going Through A Breakup (opens the original)
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I was 24 living in Seattle, going through another breakup. This time, it ended with the guy in the psych ward. I cried at a friend’s house, as the sun set lower and lower, slumping the whole room into darkness.She vacuumed to drown out the noise, but I cried louder to let her know that I was sad.<div class="image2-inset"
Analyzing Harry Potter for Life Lessons (opens the original)
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It’s been 23 years since I started to continuously read Harry Potter – with a brief 4-year hiatus when I got a minor in English at college and no longer had the frivolous time to read children’s books.With my first paycheck, I bought the full hard cover set of Harry Potter books so I wouldn’t have to hold the tattered halves past the 3rd book, since they started to get too thick for a paper spine and glue to hold together.I credit Harry Potter for making >90 minute-movies the norm, identifying o
Everyone Wants Community Until A Stranger Offers You A Ride (opens the original)
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Last week, I got off at Minneapolis airport with extremely high expectations about the airport itself (“it’s just great” people said when I pressed for details) and the kindness of the Midwest.I was groggy and the airport was a lot bigger than I’d expected, so by the time I got to the pickup zone, I was sweaty and had made several wrong turns to get there.My assigned driver, Kevin, had 5 stars. Pretty impressive, especially in comparison to my score, which I checked was 4.9. (I’d created a new L
It's Time To Clean Out The Junk Drawer (opens the original)
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Computer lab was nice because it was the only air-conditioned room in the school. “Who’s used a computer before? Do your parents have computers? Who’s been able to type on the computer?”<img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="237.39285714285714" src="http
Uniting People by Being a Hater (opens the original)
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When I was 23, I dated a big, burly dude named Joe who liked to eat 4 pop-tarts in one sitting and drove a pick-up truck. Joe showed me Star Wars, conspiracy theories, and shouting at the TV.I showed him things too, like Korean barbecue, cash-back credit cards, and having an office job.We spent weekends lounging on the couch and setting things on fire.<a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CRyi!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%
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