Life Teachings from a Board Game

In this game, as in life, you have to be flexible. Every day demands something different from you, and if you “play” the same way each time, you may not be finding success, because the situation has changed and different tactics are required. 

Clarify Confusion

IWow. Mic DROP. It seems so obvious, but I finally get it. A million things became crystal clear. Why do we allow ourselves to live in a state of confusion? When you really want something, you’d rather assume “if it’s not a no, it’s a yes.” That leaves hope and room for things to go your way. To flip it – “if it’s not a resounding yes, it’s a no,” can be hurtful. Why assume rejection if there’s a 1% chance? But living in the 1% is a constant state of not knowing, and that is almost worse than being rejected. As the Queen of the Silver Lining Scenario though, this is very hard to reconcile. . . . Read More

First Time Camping

Well, I did it. I went camping. Like, slept-in-a-tent-outside-in-the-woods camping. I might have done that once when I was 8 or so at camp, but never as an adult. Friends have mentioned or invited me camping before, but when you’ve never done it, it sounds so daunting and scary. So, this is for all those people who are thinking about it, in excruciating detail, so that you can be super chill and say yes to your experienced camping friends. Embedded with tales of my trip, sit back and relax . . . Read More

Don’t Change the Subject

Race in the United States of America – one of the most uncomfortable topics we avoid talking about. As a Black person, it is often tiring to answer questions or have to defend something you know exists. Blending into a society that wasn’t built for you. Demanding a seat at the table, knowing full well your voice isn’t always wanted. The tireless effort of constantly having to validate your existence. Meanwhile, you see others go through the same interviews, hang out in the same crowds, and not have to endure what you have to endure. This doublethink you must do Every. Single. Day. . . . Read More

Corona Perspectives

Today is May 2, 2020. I’ve been quarantined at home for 6 weeks, along with much of the state and country (USA) due to COVID-19, also called the Corona virus. I could list a laundry list of things I’m not allowed to do anymore, but instead, I want us to take a moment and think of the perspectives of others and what they may be going through. I remember living through 9/11 and it was so surreal, the country was in shock, questioning if it really happened or if we were just delayed in waking up from a horrible dream? Today seems much like movies and novels that were imagined decades ago, and so it does seem surreal, but this is our new reality. . . . Read More

Book Review: Born A Crime

This book was phenomenal. Noah took a somber true life experience and turned it into a comical reflection. I literally laughed out loud, got visibly angry, and cried throughout this book. I stayed up reading at times when I should have gone to bed because I wanted to find out what happened next.
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Fear of Missing Out

FOMO, or the Fear of Missing Out, is a real thing. It is the social anxiety of feeling that you are missing out on something because you are absent. In the age of smartphones and as much technology as we have, I think this is becoming more of a social problem than we let on. There are lots of interesting psychological articles written on the topic, which itself is not new, but social media, definitely enhances this fear. If you are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, SnapChat, YikYak, Messenger, and even Pinterest, you may want to keep reading. . . Read More

Book Review: The Tipping Point

Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers and Blink, has also written a book called The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. In a world where a single tweet can end your career, this concept is both interesting and stable. I thoroughly enjoy sociology and understanding the science behind how our brains work. If you ever want to create a product that is widely used or go viral, definitely a good read.

The book is pretty true to its title. We learn about products and ideas that “went viral” to put it into today’s terms. From Hush Puppies to yawns to crime in New york City, Gladwell really breaks down what happened with these things to make them ‘contagious.’ Gladwell says there are 3 rules of epidemics: the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context. . . . Read More

Movie Review – Beatriz at Dinner

Beatriz at Dinner (2017) was written by Mike White, and Directed by Miguel Arteta. The main stars were Salma Hayek (Beatriz) and John Lithgow (Doug Strutt). After the watching the trailer, I was super excited to see this movie. You have a Mexican lady that is visiting a wealthy American in her house, at what looked like an invite for dinner. A wealthy visitor immediately clashes with the guest, making disrespectful assumptions about her citizenship and thoughts. I was prepared for amazing dialogue and presentation of both sides on screen. That’s really all I knew about the film going in. Taking the political environment into account, I thought this would be a great discussion piece. . . . Read More

The Semicolon Movement

I don’t remember where I was or what I was doing, but I glanced over at someone’s wrist a couple years ago and I saw a tattoo of a semicolon. As a writer, I have always loved the semicolon. It allowed for more dramatic pauses or showing incomplete thoughts in characters as they wrestled with what to do. But to permanently mark your body with a punctuation mark? That’s serious! I never saw that person again, and even if I had the chance, I wouldn’t have asked them about their form of expression on their body. So I did what any curious person does after they see something interesting: I googled it. And it was here that I learned about Project Semicolon . . . Read More