I’ve been writing my entire life in some capacity or another, but it was only earlier this year I decided to write on Medium. I noticed an unfortunate trend in my writing: it was getting sloppy. And boring. And overedited. Half the time I finished an article I felt nauseated by my work. Why? In the past writing has always been a source of catharsis for me, a precious release from the disorganized voice in my head. It was a place for breakthroughs and self-therapy. Sure, it was uncomfortable at times, but never like this.

So, I decided to take…

I’m sitting at my desk wondering how to explain — no, how to beg my relatives to have a real conversation about what’s happening in this country. A conversation that does not begin and end in hostility and discomfort. A conversation that is not cut short by trite accusations, racist conspiracies, or hollow claims that all of the media is fake unless it’s in favor of their argument. …

In the beginning, it’s pitch black. You see nothing, but you hear the whisper of wind over water. The sounds build to a murmur, and you wake. You open your eyes to the familiar teal and blue-greens of the midday sky over the ocean. Clouds dot the horizon, accenting a picturesque ocean.

You’re viewing all of this from atop a wooden lookout on a small island, one of many connected by rope bridges. Far below there is a humble village, and you can make out the sounds of villagers trading, as well as a piglet snorting. The curious sounds of…

RETROSPECTIVE

ADVICE

Thinking about scheduling an hour-long “touchpoint” to discuss that [PERSON] needs to complete [TASK] by [DEADLINE]?

Think again.

An elite team of Harvard-educated science-folk found shocking evidence that the majority of meetings are redundant and can be replaced with a simple email. The study is still highly classified, but lucky for you, I got insider information on how to use the results for good. What follows are step-by-step instructions on how to increase team productivity, morale, and make you look like a hero.

1. Open your email

If you’re having trouble with this step, cancel all of your meetings for the day. Pull up…

FUTURE CRAFTING

There’s lurking anxiety in people’s hearts. “What if this never ends?” Countless articles cropped up over the past few months theorizing what a future of living in the shadow of COVID-19 might look like. What permanent changes to our lifestyles should we prepare for? If we find a cure, what does the aftermath look like? Do we scramble back to our daily lives, balance mourning the dead with a 9–5?

One outcome worth considering is the shift to virtual living. I’m not talking about more reliable Zoom meetings or better virtual doctor appointments.

I’m talking about living in a video…

May 6th, 1993

I’m born, the first of four. Some people say they remember their birth. I do not. All I know is what my mom told me: that I was a beautiful baby boy who she loved all the way to the moon and back.

A brown-eyed boy — that’s what ended up on my birth certificate, the first permanent record of anyone telling me who to be.

Today I am decidedly not a boy, but I am still beautiful. This is my story.

2nd Grade

My only elementary school teacher whose name I don’t remember sits next to me as I practice writing…

GAMING CULTURE

While researching a feature of a new survival game, Grounded’s “Arachnophobia Mode”, which offers players spider-free gameplay, I came across the following paragraph on The Gamer:

Obsidian knows that arachnophobia is a fairly common fear among the pampered masses of gamers that rarely leave their bedroom for anything more than food and the occasional social interaction with another human being, so they had to come up with something that would allow people who are deathly afraid of spiders to play Grounded without urinating themselves on their first night.

If I could roll my eyes and gouge them out at the…