Day trading

Ashwin Goyal

Oct 24, 2023 — 1 min read

“Those day traders won’t know what hit them,” I tell my reflection with a determined nod. I’m pumped, ready for the kill. The charts gleam. First trade, I pounce, and it nosedives. “That’s just mean,” I mutter, shaking my head—it’s just a bad start.

I lock onto the next chart. It’s inching up. Got to be the one. I buy and then it crashes, bouncing back the instant it hits my stop loss. “You’re kidding!” I splutter, a manic giggle escaping.

I’m not beaten. Not yet. Another trade, fingers crossed. I hit buy, and it tanks, mocking me by rising right after my exit. “What’s the game?” I scream at the screen, feeling the burn of betrayal.

Here's the final gamble, my make-or-break moment. Everything I have, it’s all riding on this. My hands are shaking, my vision blurs, and I feel myself swaying.

Then, the power cuts. Darkness. When the lights flicker back, the stock has soared, but—I never hit confirm. I let out a visceral scream, “Aaaaaaah!”

Ordering at a restaurant

I plop down at the restaurant, my stomach’s making all sorts of noises, and I go through the menu. “Yup, yup, yup,” I’m thinking, ‘cause everything looks amazing. I’m ready to feast. Waiters come and go, each one looking like they might be bringing my order. I

Receiving a salary

First of the month. “What’s up, Richie Rich?” I joke to myself, staring at the salary credited text. “A new phone? Maybe a bigger TV?” I wonder, but then settle on upgrading my laptop—a necessity, I convince myself, for someone as ‘professional’ as me. Then the texts start