On my nightstand both at Andover and at home is a little red book with gold lettering on the cover: 兵法. The Art of War.

Let me be very honest. I barely read the thing. Cracked it open a few times, read chapter 1 more than twice, and flipped through pages looking for sage advice. The hype is not worth it guys… I thought by watching Technoblade’s “Potato War” series over and over that this book would contain the most fantastic strategies on living life and winning battles. But now when I read it, what am I even supposed to do with this: “It follows that when one rolls up the armour and sets out speedily, stopping neither day nor night and marching at double time for a hundred li, the three commanders will the captured. For the vigorous troops will arrive first and the feeble straggle along behind, so that if this method is used only one-tenth of the armor will arrive.”

Like, come on. The closest thing I’ve done to marching double time for a hundred li is a 50km bike ride or a half marathon. And let me tell you, I’m not leading no vigorous nor feeble troops into battle. So then, with this in mind, why did it sit on my nightstand for all this time?

Before April, I was tweaking about Co-Prez. It was an unhealthy obsession, and I was convinced that somehow whatever small bits of wisdom I’d gleaned from the book was going to help me win the presidential race. It didn’t by the way; we lost a pretty close race.

Well after losing, I really considered ripping it up and throwing it around and whining like a little baby. It felt so terrible, that all of the nights of planning and work and meetings all went out the window. I even wrote a little emo essay about being a loser all my life. At the time I was really upset, but looking back, what a nothing-burger of a struggle!

When I woke up the morning after, I felt miserable, I re-read my emo essay, I felt even more miserable, and then I looked over at The Art of War. I felt like a stain. Like a mud-stain on a white polo shirt. But then, my club texted me saying they needed help setting stuff up. I curled up and flipped open to a page of The Art of War instead.

“Of the five elements, none is always predominant; of the four seasons, none lasts forever; of the days, some are long and some short, and the moon waxes and wanes.”

Ah, of course. In my head I translated: “keep your head up king, this a stupid thing to be down about go mosh or something.” So I shut the book, helped set up for the club, and mosh, I did. Thank you Dad, and thank you Sun Tzu for telling me to lock in and to stop being such a downer.