Running as metaphor: how suffering shapes your perception of life and how you can use it to grow
I listened to a podcast on my run the other day about purpose, perseverance, and the close connection that exists between passion and suffering. The magic that happens when you embrace suffering and seek the impossible. To be willing to suffer for the things you’re passionate about. So that podcast led me to thinking about suffering in all its forms and whether it can be turned into a growing experience…
Comparing my grieving process to a car crash
I’m not an expert on grief. I haven’t read the self-help books. I rarely take heed of anyone’s advice on how to grieve. Joan Didion famously wrote a meditation on grief that is equal parts beautiful and sad. She tells us that grief has no end, and that it’s nothing like we expect it to be. She describes the “comes in waves” phenomenon, which nobody can quite nail down in words but everyone knows exactly what it means when it’s said.
I can’t compare my grief to ocean waves, however. For me, it’s more like a car crash that you see coming but are helpless to stop — one that leaves you damaged and scarred, inside and out.
The Pumpkin Spice Latte is back today: love it or hate it?
In its earliest premiere ever, Starbucks is releasing the 2018 Pumpkin Spice Latte today, August 28, unofficially heralding the coming of fall. As someone who’s motto is usually, “let people enjoy things,” I don’t get mad about it. It’s a tasty drink and gets people excited for a popular season. How bad could it be? But you know how it is, especially on the internet…
Talking about sexuality: the big dirty elephant in the room
Talking about sexuality is a conversation that can make folks a tad uncomfortable. Sexuality is always some big dirty elephant in the room — it’s there and obvious but everyone avoids talking about it. That’s because, for many of us, it has been taught for generations that sex is a dirty thing we keep to ourselves.
We offer sexual education in some schools, we talk to our kids about the birds and the bees, but beyond that, how often do we ever really talk about sexuality?
Diversity is SO IN: this video perfectly captures why we can’t view diversity as a “trend”
It’s so true that diversity and inclusion are big ol’ buzzwords in media lately. Recently, between movies like Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians, we’re seeing teeny tiny snippets of slightly more inclusive media. I mean, it’s always been a thing: add in a token person of color or woman to your news anchor team, superhero squad, voting ballots, or 20-something sitcom friends. But now audiences are asking for more — more inclusion, more marginalized groups represented in politics and communities, and more realistic portrayals of race, gender, sexual orientation, body size, etc.
I can move anywhere! Where should I move that’s affordable and full of nature?
Any advice or resources for choosing a place to live for another Californian being priced out of her area? I feel like I’m ready for a change of scenery. I need a place with an affordable cost of living, and I’d really prefer a place that has lots of trees and hiking options, and isn’t filled with Trump supporters.
Does such a place exist?
Reader-tested laundry tips for sparkling clean and not-stanky clothes
Back in the day we put out the call to help us with some laundry tips to make our lives and clothes better (and specifically for those discolored pit stains!). Y’all delivered as you always do. I pulled out some of the best laundry advice that you gave us to see if we could crowdsource the best methods to keep our clothing sparkling and less stanky.
Crowdfunding for feminist creators: tips for funding your labor of love
Feminist creators — especially female-identifying creators, non-binary creators, and people of color — have historically faced discrimination in almost every industry, including comics, games, music, technology, and film. In the world of female entrepreneurship, only two to six percent of venture capital funding is allocated to women. However, crowdfunding provides a way for creators and entrepreneurs to push back against the gatekeepers of these industries and access fans directly in a way that was never possible before.