Response to “Things I Can’t Do Right After Painting My Nails”

After reading this article for the first time, I got a good ways through it without even realizing that it was written by a man. When I finally realized this, I re-read this article and I am very glad I did. The perspective completely changed and became even more powerful. After reading the title, I just assumed it would be a simple list of silly things you can’t do after painting your nails, but it was so much more. I personally loved the message behind the story and they way the author conveyed it. It was not a traditional method in the sense that the bolded/numbered points were fairly concise, but below held the true story. That was where the true message lies. For many, painting nails is simply an accessory. But for some, including this author, it was a piece of his identity he was afraid to express due to the reaction of those closest to him, especially his father. He resulted to clear polish because it was less of a distraction and would not expose the life he truly desired to live. You could definitely see a progression throughout the article of the things he claimed he couldn’t do right after painting his nails such as eating food the correct way to answering a phone call from his dad. His inclusion of “though i do them anyway” in the title is very powerful because along the way he has learned to be true to himself despite the possible judgement he could encounter. Author Will Howard uses this article to tell his story in a very different way and the last statement with the old man was very touching but also revealed that not everyone was fortunate to feel confident enough to live a life full of painted nails and acceptance for who they are, not who the world wants them to be.

The Brevity site as a whole seems very organized and more of a blog-style writing which allows people to read and comment, and it seems like a very accepting platform.