“You’ve got to go through it, Tony.” It’s maybe a hundred meters long, jagged stones stacked on one another. Though it is centuries old, the constant presence of young people on its ledge erases ideas of noble conquest or stately affair. No, it is just the Neckarmauer, the wall that runs alongside the Neckar River. … [Read More]
One Week In…
Can you age a year in a week? That is all that it has been. One week. One week since I arrived on a plane in Stuttgart, having a cold drizzle welcome me to my new home in Germany. One week since I said goodbye to my friends, family, and way of living in the … [Read More]
The Dance of Grit, The Dance of Grace.
It’s like a pit in my stomach. I can feel it sit there, unable to be digested. Two weeks. Every minute seems to be filled with a different emotion, making my hours diverse and complicated, making the days exhausting. These fluctuating feelings do not respect my unconscious hours, as they have now begun invading my … [Read More]
Rhythms, Identity, and a Porch in Alabama
Who am I supposed to be? What is my new normal? Underneath the seemingly endless dynamism of this transition period of my life, these questions run like a steady stream. I am careful to not answer either of them too quickly, for fear of adopting a brittle answer because of its ease and availability. These … [Read More]
Putting Down Roots
“You have to put down roots.” The only thing more troubling that she could have said came next: “And if you are going to put down roots somewhere, that means you cannot hold on to roots elsewhere.” Like an arrow aimed straight at my heart, Michal Ruth’s words cut through my ribs to the tender … [Read More]
Living without the Adjectives
Adjectives. Those describing words. The modifiers, classifiers, and identifiers. The words that separate the world into categories. Pretty. Ugly. Black. White. Rich. Poor. Smart. Dumb. Hip. Lame. Good. Bad. Going. Sending. It was my first time attending this camp on the dune-covered beaches of the Oregon Coast. I had heard rumors of it since I … [Read More]