Well, here were are at story number twelve in the twelve stories in twelve months challenge. This month the prompt was “not my type” and the word count was 1200. I don’t have much to say about it except I’m glad that I got a Christmas story done this year. As always, I’d love to…
Racism is a difficult topic to talk about. There are all the obvious reasons. It’s a sensitive subject that can be triggering for many people. Plus, it is hard for many people to be honest, even with themselves, about it. It can expose a disconnect between the person you are and the person you want…
I loved going over to my grandfather’s house when I was a kid. He’s 6’4″, and was this larger than life man who gave my brothers and I as much candy and toys as we could handle. To top it off, he had cable, a luxury that my family couldn’t afford. We would arrive at…
There’s a symptom of my depression that I never hear anyone talk about. Depression has completely destroyed my confidence. And it’s not just during a depressive episode. I lack confidence even when I’m feeling good. This is a fairly recent development, in the last ten years or so. It dates to just before I was…
For as long as there have been people, old people have said, “Kids today. . .” and young people have said, “Old people just don’t get it. . .” There have been jokes and stories and songs written about the phenomenon. Most of them treat it humorously, which seems about right. There have recently been…
There’s something I’ve been thinking about lately. It might sound strange to some people, but why isn’t the harmonica a more popular instrument? It’s often seen as a kid’s toy or lame or dorky. People dream of becoming a guitar hero, a pyrotechnic drummer, or a groovy bassist. They fantasize about being a hot DJ,…
According to the internet, etiquette is, “the customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a particular profession or group.” I’m certainly no expert on what most people think of when they think of etiquette. I don’t know what the differences are between forks. I have no idea who to invite to…
The overwhelming majority of students I tutor at my job are Black women. Part of that is the nature of the work- you develop a rapport with students and they come back to you. But even the one-off students who just need a second set of eyes before they submit a paper are typically Black…
I’m not exactly sure why I’m writing this. I think I mostly just feel like arguing about some really low stakes stuff. I’m looking for fun arguments. So, if you respond, please keep it fun. I should also note that this is not an exhaustive list and I’m not going into a lot of detail….
I published this piece last year, shortly after the Olympics, on Mentriz.com. I’m not sure what happened, but Mentriz no longer seems to exist. So, I’m reposting it here for the time being. The past year and a half have been seemingly great for mental health advocates. Starting with the onset of the global pandemic…
