First Breaths of the Morning

Serene frosty morning landscape with sunrise

I woke into a groggy half-sleep with a pain in my chest.

Seduced by the warmth of the covers and the elusive intoxication of drowsiness, I convinced myself that the best thing to do was to stay put and do some deep breathing.

I breathed in and out, and in my sleep-stupor, I imagine… Read more...

we be illin’

Courage

It was feminists who had the courage to diagnose the world around them, to take the glaring light that was shining on them and turn it around to blind their accusers.

“We are not the problem,” they said, tired of being labeled anxious, depressed, hysterical. “We … Read more...

I Feel Like

I feel like the villains are scheming to blow up the planet from their rocketship, and I’m trapped in a basement tied to a sewer pipe.

I feel like someone cut off my hands, and they’re laughing at me through the walls.

I feel like the bomb shelters were not dug deep eno… Read more...

Space for Egos

The facade of an office block removed to expose office spaces, cables, rooms and the structure.

It doesn’t take talent to destroy things.

Only ego.

And a deaf ear to the screams of the architects and the residents.

Even the ugliest of buildings has some good bricks, some ingenuity worthy of replication.

Innovation comes from working above and beyond the thing before it.

No… Read more...

A Butterfly Among Birds

Orange and black butterfly

Sometimes I feel like I was dropped on the wrong planet, born into the wrong species.

I am a butterfly among birds, living trustfully by the lessons I received at birth.

I flutter instead of soar. I chase rainbows instead of treasure.

With reverence for the wind and warmth, I swoop … Read more...

The Real Cheater

Student cheating during an exam

AI has made cheating almost irresistible for students: to be able to get a 10-page paper done in 30 seconds is certainly tempting. There are some subjects students just don’t care to learn; they just want to get that grade (B is fine), check the box, and move along. I had c… Read more...

Where Love Lies

One thing that frees me, that keeps the darkness from taking me over, is the belief that there are no bad people out there, just regular people doing bad things, whether with malice, ignorance, or good intentions.

I am freed by this thought because it feels less permanent. Behavio… Read more...