In 2018, I found I wanted to go backward to go forward more than I expected.
At work and in my writing and my service, I differently assessed where I was last year to plan for this year. Where 2017 featured many public facing advances (I became CEO! a creative piece of mine was published somewhere! I), my 2018 featured far more internal or private advances.
I am proud of what I’ve done. There’s more to do.
Communities begin organically. They’re grown and strengthened intentionally. Starting them is easy. Making them last is hard.
I’ve had the privilege of being near to many new and established communities of various stripes — geographic, topical, social, professional and more. Community is any intentional grouping of people who share some commonality.
One community I’ve approached with great intentionality has been one of Philadelphia journalism. I intersect it in several ways, as a young journalist, as a small publisher and, as of last week, for the fourth year as a board member of the Pen and Pencil Club, one of the country’s oldest private press clubs and de facto reporter hangout.
Continue reading Lessons on building an industry-specific community
my company’s health insurance covers working with a nutritionist so i took advantage of that the last year. it’s part of me trying to inch my way toward being healthier in my 30s. she helped improve some of my habits.
1. portion control, have a little less the first time and then think twice before having seconds, stop when i’m full
2. every other — foods i love most but are worst for me, like french fries and potato chips, i won’t ever give up, but i do try to have them every other time than i normally would, opting for the side salad or baby carrots
3. special occasions — i try to not get pizza or drink soda unless at a party or celebrating. it allows me to have what i love, but limits in a healthy way. i also don’t actually keep chips in the house anymore
4. invest in produce — eating healthier is expensive. i’ve all but decided upon a blank check for fresh foods and local produce that force me to eat far healthier than when i’m not.
5. have a go to health food — habit drives bad eating because the unhealthy stuff is hwat we often know best and can do most easily, so have seasonal go tos for food. in the summer, smoothies and giant salads are favorites.
6. seasons — move on from foods so you don’t get sick of them.
7. cut the sugar — fortunately i already drink coffee black but she helped push me to drop the sugary teas i would sometimes have at home. i also stopped having orange juice in the house.
A version of this essay was published as part of my monthly newsletter a couple weeks back. Find other archives and join here to get updates like this first.
Art elevates the human experience. Science contextualizes it. Art says we are important. Science says we are not.
I think of this tension often — it’s a theme of a lot of the writing I’ve done for years. High culture is the best tool we have against nationalism and provincialism. The best of what we collectively create tends to come from collaboration and gains interest beyond race or country or tribe. Science is a collection of the facts as best we can see them now. Art motivates us to care, to understand, to act. I’m interested in when we seem to deploy the wrong one for a circumstance.
Continue reading Art tells us we are important. Science reminds us we are not
