Why should we push toward discomfort when our environments encourage the opposite? Comfort has become our default setting. On every corner, a fast-food joint offers us a hot, convenient, and delicious meal. With the tap of a credit card, we can avoid cooking and fill our stomachs with empty calories. Although the food tastes good, it lacks nutritional value. Our phones offer countless hours of entertainment without pressing a button. Flashing our faces before the screen unloc

I left home at 4:00 AM. With almost two hours to spare before my flight, I arrived at the airport. There was no need to check luggage for...

"Artificial intelligence helps us imagine who we are.” I listened as my coworker shared ideas from her conference presentation. After our meeting ended, I scribbled her words on a notebook to review later. How do you make use of AI? Are you hesitant or jumping in to use the tools without inhibition? On some levels, I’ve been reluctant and skeptical about AI’s shortcuts to research, productivity, and creativity. I use Grammarly for editing assistance, but outsourcing human thi

Have you ever experienced the feelings of being sick, naked, and afraid? Men often ignore their vulnerabilities, but the façade has limitations. Difficulties can teach you plenty when you embrace the fullness of your identity. So many of us project false images of ourselves as tactical tools to survive. We put up a front. We get wrapped in our public personas while losing touch with our inner selves to fragile and narrow definitions of masculinity. Check my usage of “we;” I’m

Forty minutes before the train departed, I arrived at the Sacramento Valley Station. Everything online told me thirty minutes or less was enough time to board the Amtrak line to Hayward. The Uber driver dropped me at the curb at 11:15 AM for an 11:55 AM train. I pulled open the heavy glass door and surveyed the lobby. The waiting area mirrored a scene from an old Western movie. I sat on a long wooden bench and waited for further instructions. No announcement came on the inter

How do you train yourself to run a marathon, 26.2 miles? A better question is, why would anyone pay to run that far when multiple modes...

Have you read the “Dear Colleague” love letter from Craig Trainor, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights with the United States Department of Education? The letter was released on Valentine's Day and quickly circulated among higher education professionals. In the final minutes of our last all-staff meeting, a colleague passed copies of the letter around the boardroom. As a staff member read passages aloud, my biology replied. My head filled with rage, and my hands i

Dreams often reveal the stories inside our souls. They project pictures of fears and ambitions to the walls of our craniums while we...

Surprised, upset, or elated? How did you feel after Super Bowl LIX? I hope you came out ahead if you put money or a friendly bet on the game. The day before the Eagles spread their wings and soared over the Chiefs, I huddled in a park with ten men. One of them asked me if I was a sports fan. I shook my head no and answered the next question. They asked about my work and hobbies. It was my first time with the men who exercise daily together in various locations around the neig

What would happen if you went outdoors without a shirt on a winter day in Chicago? Depending on your gender, you might get arrested. Stay outside long enough without the police, and you will freeze. The temperatures drop below zero every year. For people in the Midwest, that freeze is not new, but it remains difficult to accept. When I complain about being cold, people often say, “Are you from Chicago?” "Yes, but I still get cold," is how I usually respond. It's human nature

After this post, I am putting this issue to bed. I am tucking it under the sheets, turning off the light, saying good night, and closing the door. Seeing and typing the words will help me acknowledge reality. What do you think? Are you lost and confused? Read the next sentence. Between the environment and multiple interactions with people, I must concede to living in America. I live in a country with abundant resources, but people without homes lack critical support and must

After growing up in Chicago, I fell in love with the winter seasons of what some economists mis-frame as the Global South. In Mexico, and Antigua and Barbuda, I enjoyed the year-round warm weather. The sun wrapped its arms around me from January to December for eight years. Every morning I stepped outdoors this week, the dark sky and cold temperatures reminded me of the life I left behind. I struggled to accept the separation. Being back in the States feels like dating an ex-

My new office What or who do you call God? Are you agnostic, not knowing how to reference a Creator? Think about these two questions for a second. I'm not here to judge your answer. Nor am I interested in debates about "My God" and "Your God." However, you recognize or choose not to acknowledge a supreme being is your business. To paraphrase Malcolm X, el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, invisible divisions disrupt unity the moment we discuss religion. Let's instead focus on building a

What can you accomplish in two hours? If you live or have family in California, it might feel impossible to do anything for more than a...

The not-so-happy Lindsay family's departure. What will you do differently? In these first few days of 2025, we have time to change. As...

Have you ever experienced death? If you're seeing these words, you're alive. Consider literacy and eyesight two blessings. By this...

Dear Vizuri, Fourteen years old is official! You're no longer daddy's little princessa warrior like I have you saved in my phone. In four...

Are you here or in your head today? At least once this week, you left work feeling overwhelmed. If you want me to tell you that stress is...

How is this season treating you? Have you changed like the leaves on trees? Perhaps you are cold, like the frigid temperatures in...

What are you thankful for today? Despite the unfortunate news of Trump’s premature cabinet picks, current injustices, and health...