The Art of Chill

Multicolored abstract painting

The Art of Chill evolves over time. It’s a craft I’ve been practicing since birth.

In youth, it’s about taming your anxiety about the future, being okay with not knowing what lies ahead, taking your hits gracefully. It’s remaining poised and relaxed while … Read more...

Hidden Moments

Photography of city

If I hadn’t stopped scrolling, I wouldn’t have started petting Ziggy.

If I hadn’t pet Ziggy, he never would have put his head in my lap and looked at me with those eyes to take him for a walk.

If I hadn’t gone for a walk, I would not have run into the Italia… Read more...

The Troll Game

Attentive boy sitting on bed and playing card game at home

I agreed to play 30 consecutive games of Castle Mania with Hazel, or “The Troll Game” as we call it. (She had advocated for 50 games but I talked her down.)

Castle Mania is a simple but surprisingly suspenseful card game where you team up with each other to prevent a p… Read more...

My First Poem

silhouette of child sitting behind tree during sunset

I’ve been going through old papers. My mom saved everything, especially the art stuff: Half finished pictures, 3 words on an otherwise blank page, an excessively pasty attempt at a pop-up book…

I found a gem.

Apparently, when I was in second grade I wrote my first poem.… Read more...

Give ’em a Beard!

Gray scale bearded man

A creative writing professor once told me, “If you’re bored with one of your characters, try giving ’em a beard.” It became a thing. When something was off in one of our stories, he’d slam the paper down and yell out “Give ’em a beard!… Read more...

How I Came To Be

Painted Ripples

In 9th grade, I was generously forced into journaling by my English teacher. In college, I eventually found my way into a short-fiction class, and was sold. I wrote all the time, was working on stories all the time, daydreaming about my characters, while real-world people talked … Read more...

It Ain’t The Constraints

green grass field

Our instinct is to resent constraints.

All of us struggle with telling our life’s story on a single page. And all of us wish we had more hours in the day…

Under such constraints, we often give up and then blame these limitations for our failure.

But if you can put all th… Read more...

The Days After Halloween

There are remnants of Halloween around the house.

White crumbly dust on the floor from sawing styrofoam balls in half with a hacksaw.
Orphaned swatches of tape hanging off the edge of the sill
Dresses laid over chairs in the corner
Hardening paintbrushes on the back of the sink
At lea
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Who Are the Heroes?

Man with a gay pride flag

A cool thing happened at work.

At the last minute, a coaching client wanted to donate her coaching call to a friend who had just discovered a job that was perfect for her. We hastily transferred the session and all of a sudden I was talking with another person.

Within 30 minutes, w… Read more...