As a teenager, 26 felt grown. My mom had me when she was this age, so I naturally stepped into 2023 curious if anything would change, if...

In 2012, Facebook went public and acquired Instagram, the new kid on the block I was trying really hard to impress. I was 15 at the time,...

In a 2004 interview for The Paris Review, Haruki Murakami — my favorite author — said that "writing a long novel is like survival...

I recently discovered something new about myself. A thought that I've danced around consciously, unaware of its significance and ignorant...

My favorite days as a journalism student at San Jose State University were chaotic and unplanned. I had no car, a budget too tight for...

When I was younger, I didn't like to speak that much. Being outside made me nervous. My arms were always tightly bound to my sides, held...

When I started writing an introduction to understanding discomfort, I was in the process of figuring things out. I was clawing deeper...

Somewhere along with the rise of the like button, the idea of strength in (follower) numbers, and the need to turn every hobby into a...

The most frightening point of a roller coaster ride — that one moment that might force your fingers to dig into numb skin, the pit of...

In a college class on war and conflicts, I was introduced to Steven Pinker's famously debated thesis — that violence of every form was on...

In my series of steps taken to understand discomfort this past year, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about introspection. Step 1:...

When the clock struck midnight, pulling me into the first few seconds of 2020, I was in a Minnesota ski lounge with my then-boyfriend and...

If my first step to understanding discomfort is confronting existing mindsets and changing them, what should the next step be? Putting...

Do I remember off the top of my head, the first thing that pops into mind when I wake up in the morning? I try to recall any imagery that...

I've never been a part of a majority identity, anywhere I went. I don't know what it feels like to see fair representation in a political...

There's an art to it. When your headspace resides in what feels like constant anxiousness, you develop a skill to remain relatively...