Let’s just be completely honest with each other for a second: human beings are naturally, wonderfully, unapologetically nosy. It is practically built into our DNA. We all have those moments where we are dying to ask someone a specific question, but the little voice in our head says, “Absolutely not, that is too messy,” or “What if they think I’m being weird?” So, we keep it to ourselves, smile politely, and go on about our day. But what if we didn’t have to?
Lately, between juggling my biology and chemistry prerequisites, managing the beautiful chaos of everyday life, and trying to keep my sanity intact, I’ve found myself wanting to just connect, switch off the serious side of my brain, and have a little unfiltered fun.
So, I did a thing. I signed up for an app called NGL, and apparently, I have decided to give the anonymous people of the internet a microphone.
If you haven’t seen it floating around yet, NGL stands for “Not Gonna Lie.” It is essentially a digital truth serum or a virtual suggestion box for your life. If you remember the wild west days of the internet with things like Formspring or Ask.fm, it’s basically the modern version of that. It generates a link that you can share, and anyone who clicks it can send you a message or ask you a question completely anonymously.
You have zero idea who is on the other side of the screen. No name. No profile pic. No “sent from my iPhone at 2:17 a.m. after three glasses of wine and a crisis.” Just a question floating in from the void. You get to keep your identity private, preserve your mystery, and avoid the possibility of me responding with, “Wait a minute… is this you?”
But first, since this is Stories From Tina, let me actually tell you some stories to set the mood. Not the polished ones. The ones that make you go, “wait, that is so me” while you are standing in the kitchen eating cereal out of the box like a raccoon who pays bills.
The other night I was trying to be a functioning adult. You know the vibe. Lights dimmed. A playlist that makes you feel like you have your life together. I even lit a candle that claimed to smell like “linen and ambition.” I sat down to journal. Ten minutes later I was on my phone looking at other people’s kitchens and wondering why mine still looks like a storage unit for Amazon boxes and good intentions. I put the phone down. Picked it back up. Then I opened the notes app and wrote: “Tomorrow I will drink more water and become mysterious.”
I did not drink more water. I did become slightly more mysterious by accident because I fell asleep with my bonnet half on and woke up looking like I lost a fight with a silk pillowcase. Relatable? I hope so. If your version of self-care is also 40% intention and 60% “I tried,” we can be friends.
Speaking of trying, can we talk about the grocery store? I went in for three things. Milk. Bananas. Something green so I could tell myself I made a vegetable choice. I came out with sparkling water I did not need, a candle I definitely did not need, and a bag of frozen dumplings because they looked like they had their life together. The bananas made it. The milk made it. The green thing did not survive the snack aisle. On the way home, I sat in the parking lot for a minute like I had just completed a mission. Then I realized I left my reusable bags in the trunk again. Of course I did. They live in the car specifically so I can forget them and then feel personally attacked by the paper bag.
Then there was the moment last week that I keep thinking about because it was so small and ridiculous. I was getting ready. Hair, face, outfit that I convinced myself was effortless even though it took 20 minutes and two outfit changes. I looked in the mirror and said, out loud, “Okay. We look like a person who has errands and opinions.” Then I walked outside, immediately dropped my keys, and had to do that little squat-and-pray move where you hope nobody saw you. Somebody saw me. A bird. I am choosing to believe the bird was supportive.
That is the exact energy I am bringing into this NGL experiment. Soft chaos. Honest answers. A little humor so nobody thinks I take myself too seriously.
Why am I even doing this? Because I have always believed that people carry questions they do not always feel comfortable asking. They may be afraid of being misunderstood, dismissed, or feeling exposed. Sometimes you want to ask something personal, awkward, random, or completely out of pocket without having to explain why you are asking.
I want to make one thing abundantly clear before we start: there is absolutely no judgment here, and there is no such thing as a stupid question.
Maybe you want my completely unqualified advice on a personal dilemma you are going through. Maybe you just want to ask what my ridiculously specific Domino’s pizza order is, or what it takes to get me through a late-night study session (it involves a dangerously large iced Tesora coffee with heavy cream). Maybe you want to ask about boundaries, protecting your peace, relationships, healing from disappointment, or dealing with gossip. Or maybe you just want to send a completely random, off-the-wall hypothetical question to see how I react.
You can ask without feeling like you are standing under a spotlight. You do not have to add a formal greeting, a résumé, or a five-page background statement (although, if you do send a five-page background statement, I will respect the commitment).
Now, before this turns into a courtroom and a therapy office all at once, let me say this: ask what you want, but understand that I may answer with honesty, humor, silence, or a combination of all three. There is a difference between honesty and cruelty. I like a little spice, but I do not like people throwing tomatoes from the dark. If you send a thoughtful question, I will do my best to give you a thoughtful answer. If you send something that is clearly designed to create chaos, please know I might simply look at it, blink twice, and place it gently in the spiritual recycling bin.
I may answer your questions privately through the app, or if I think it will help someone else, I might use it as inspiration for a future blog post (completely anonymously, of course). Sometimes one person’s anonymous question becomes another person’s moment of clarity.
So, here is your official invitation to be a little nosy without any of the guilt. If there is anything you have ever wanted to ask me, but you wanted to stay a total mystery, now is your golden opportunity.
Here is the link:
https://ngl.link/tranquilmystique
Don’t hold back! I’m going to be gathering up all your anonymous submissions, and I promise to answer them—the good, the weird, the deep, and the hilarious. Let’s keep the conversation honest, respectful, funny, and human.
Go be mysterious. I will be over here answering questions, forgetting my reusable bags, and pretending my candle smells like ambition. Let the games begin!