To everyone who DMed, emailed, and smoke signaled me (friends, family, and just general readers alike), thank you for checking up on me. At some point, I'll share the things that have been going on behind the scenes because there have been some doozies. But for now...we play!
- Let me join the chorus of people heralding Lena Dunham's Not That Kind of Girl. Like I was telling Nisha, I think this book will only confirm whatever feeling you already have about her (negative or positive) but I really loved it. Her characters in Girls drive me mad but there's something about her as a person that I really love. I love smart, brassy women who are a little off kilter; I try to surround myself with as many of them as possible because those women--the women that stick out, that don't always seem to quite fit, they're my kindred spirits. Lena happens to be one of those ladies and I'd be lying if my old soul and utterly neurotic self didn't hear a lot of myself in her words (before you freak out, Ma, no there are not any stories lurking in my past that have anything to do with me snorting cocaine or having sex with vacant surfer dudes. I promise). With that said, peppered amongst some of her wilder stories are some real gems about the relationships we have with ourselves and others and the things that drive us and very few times have I felt like somebody actually "got" what it's like to live in an anxiety filled head all the time.
- Talk about dream job...literally! I think one of the biggest and most important things we can do for students besides preparing them academically is ensuring that they leave school confident, resilient, and feeling empowered to take ownership of their lives, dreams, and choices. The Future Project helps fund dream directors/coordinators at schools who are charged with helping students achieve their dreams and goals and building culture at the school. No summary I give will do justice to just how awesome this is, so please give it a read.
- I won't even try to pretend that I know who should win the great Ben Affleck vs. Matt Damon debate (careful, it's heated over there y'all), but this week, Ben Affleck wins for his hilarious stories on Jimmy Fallon's show. How he can manage to go from Frozen to baseball to kiddie sports in 5 minutes, I have no idea.
- Sarah Kay's Ted Talk, "If I Should Have a Daughter" had me in tears about two minutes in; it's not just about parenting; so much of her discussion is about creation and living openly and how both require immense vulnerability but reward you with true, deep connection.
- This acoustic version of "Somebody Loves You" by Betty Who. I'm pretty much a sucker for any song broken down to its bare parts but this song really just does it for me, since the original version is also a favorite.
- I think the relationship between people and their pets is a powerful one and I deeply admire the people who raise therapy animals since I think the positive and soothing impact animals can have on humans is fascinating. I loved this article about Iris Grace and her relationship with her therapy cat.
- I've been obsessed with the Kennedys since I was in the 6th grade and had to do a project on the 1960s and while I've always been partial to Bobby, you best believe I devoured these rare photos from JFK and Jackie's wedding.
- Look, I actually liked A Fault In Our Stars but whoever did the writing for ebola inspired SNL spoof is a genius.
- I've been volunteering all year but more recently, I started working at some shelters, mostly serving low income and homeless individuals. The days I'm there are fulfilling ones but they are also hard in their own way. I find myself standing around sometimes, parsing out food and looking around at the dully painted walls, harsh lighting, and thinking to myself that no one should have a life that's devoid of beauty like that. These places are not run down by any means but they're not warm and people deserve a warm place to come home to at the end of the day. Beyond that, I find myself even more cognizant of homeless people on the streets, on the subway and it makes me deeply sad. While I've found myself growing frustrated about the persistence of homelessness in my city and saddened by the realities of what these people's lives probably feel like, this kid actually did something about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment