The Overlap

I'm almost 44 and have spent the better part of two decades being someone's mentor: formally, informally, voluntarily, and sometimes volun-told. I have read and edited hundreds of resumes and cover letters, sent emails on behalf of others, made calls I didn't need to make, and spent countless hours providing advice over coffee or a meal. I have walked others through the politics of rooms I had to bleed to get into. I did it because my life has been nothing short of lots of mi

There's a specific breed of person you've definitely encountered at dinner parties, in the friend group or awkward work lunches. They're waiting for their moment. You mention something—anything—about a popular show, and their eyes light up. Not with interest, but with opportunity. "Oh, I don't watch TV," they announce, with a self-satisfied air. Despite my best efforts, I immediately judge those people and put them in a special box in my head. I LOVE TV. However, that’s not w

If this pink platform Croc had a theme song, it would be, "I'm a Survivor." A few months ago in Berlin, a woman walking next to me, fell down the stairs leading to the train. I immediately rushed down to assist her. To my surprise she seemed frightened of me—as if I was going to rob her. I shared the incident with a friend wondering if racism was at play—but they remarked, “People in Berlin are not used to getting help. That’s probably why she freaked out!” Every now and then

At age 19, I came to Germany for the first time for a summer language program in Freiburg. There was a wheelchair user from France in my course. Every afternoon, we had a listening lab in the basement of some random building on campus. She would often ask someone to carry her wheelchair, while she crawled down the stairs by herself. She did this without complaining—like it was something she was used to—not having access. Witnessing the lack of accessibility that summer staye

There's a particular ache that arrives with the holiday season, uninvited but expected. The holidays have a way of making empty spaces feel enormous. Maybe the people you're missing are gone forever. Maybe they're across an ocean you can't afford to cross this year. Maybe the fear of dealing with immigration authorities and visa denials has kept you from home so long that you've stopped counting. Maybe the distance isn't measured in miles but in silence, in relationships that

Special shout-out to the Black Berlin FLINTAs Wine Group for the community and the conversation that inspired this week’s post. There's a particular scene that plays out across television and film with remarkable consistency: a Black woman sits across from a troubled character, her face a mask of professional composure and infinite patience. She listens, she validates, she guides. She is the therapist—wise, nurturing, unshakeable. What we rarely see is her own session, her ow

Advent and the Art of Holy Waiting As we enter the season of Advent, Christians around the world practice the ancient discipline of waiting. We light candles week by week, marking time until the celebration of Christ's birth. It's a season that asks us to sit with longing, to hold space for hope in the midst of darkness, and to believe that something sacred can break through into our ordinary lives at any moment. But what happens when the waiting becomes forced? When those me

Protecting yourself from the workplace stalker viewing your social media

We're living through the fracturing of public life. Democratic institutions feel unstable. Climate disasters are accelerating. Social safety nets are fraying or defunded. The pandemic shattered many of our third places—libraries, community centers, churches, the informal gathering spots where strangers became neighbors. Shout out to the community members bringing life back to those spaces. Meanwhile, tech platforms profit. Algorithms feed us rage and fear because angry, scare

Somewhere between leaving corporate America and joining the Peace Corps, someone gave me their copy of The Spiritual Teachings of Marcus Aurelius by Mark Forstater. That’s when I began my journey to being unbothered—and for the record it still feels like I am at the beginning of the road.  Nearly two thousand years ago, Marcus Aurelius (M.A.) ruled the Roman Empire while dealing with plague, war, and political backstabbing. Yet in his private journal—what we now call Meditati