N.E.R.F.

A Short History of Nearly Everything

Looking through my books really gets me thinking. This one was a graduating gift from my English teacher and all-round mentor and friend whom I really should’ve treated better but I was such an awkward and problematic kid. He wrote in the front cover: Dear Justin, I thought about you when I saw this title — your intellectual ability and capacity covers nearly everything. I hope you will make full use of it in the years to come. Take care! It’s the nicest thing and the only time a teacher has mentioned my supposed smarts without trying to make me feel bad about never doing my homework or being generally difficult. I feel like I’ve let him down though. I really could’ve done better in the years since secondary school.