ILLUSTRATIONS

ANGELO QUINTO

PROTECT ASIAN COMMUNITIES

BLACK LEGACIES IN AGRICULTURE

STACEY ABRAMS

BLACK LIVES MATTER EVERYWHERE

CELEBRATE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

THE FIGHT

NAOMI OSAKA

VOTES FOR ALL WOMEN

CHADWICK BOSEMAN

IOWA REFUGEE FAMILIES

COOL PAPA BELL

JOSH GIBSON

JOHN LEWIS

KIM’S CONVENIENCE

THE CLIMATE CRISIS IS NOT GENDER NEUTRAL

MLK’S DREAM

CHOOSE YOUR LEADERS

FERNANDO TATIS JR.

JACOB BLAKE

LOYAL TO WHAT’S RIGHT

RUTH BADER GINSBURG

SIR KEN ROBINSON

STOP VIOLENCE IN BELARUS

SATCHEL PAIGE

MONTE IRVIN

SAVE THE WORLD KATTY

CT VIVIAN

2023: The Year of Balance

In 2023 I…

▫️lost a fight against an Indian mud wrestler
▫️nearly climbed a mountain but got thwarted by a swarm of bees
▫️refined my Jay-Z impression
▫️got obsessed with rice lager, kolo nut, and proper chai
▫️made videos about wet markets, bargain airlines, and population growth
▫️took my three year old camping in Canada
▫️found my balance between home and away, serious and playful, work and play
▫️made more new friends in than I have in a decade

Haiti Persists

Haiti is real close to my heart. Some of you may have heard me share why.

It’s also been in an awful spiral since my last visit. It’s extremely hard these days for ordinary Haitians to simply go about their business without serious danger.

A lot of aid orgs have had to stop working or scale back. @plantwpurpose is one of the few with the relationships, networks, and models to keep working in the country. It actually makes a big difference

Bruce Lee

“The good life is a direction, not a destination.”

2023 marked the 50 year anniversary of Bruce Lee’s passing.

Something to look up: Bruceploitation

I never heard the term Bruceploitation until it came up on They Call Us Bruce Podcast, of all places. After Bruce Lee died, a number of Hong Kong studios tried to fill the void by casting look-alike actors to keep riding his popularity. Some included Bruce Li, Bruce Lai, and Bruce Le. I can’t help but think the they-all-look-alike trope factored into this as well.

Working on your Core (Message)

Here’s the one bit of advice I give to creators and changemakers all the time…

Whenever I think of the late poet Mary Oliver, I think of that quote: What is it you want to do with your one wild and precious life. I think of how a lot of her poetry evoked images of moving through life with a deep appreciation for one’s present surroundings and taking it all in. Like, she wasn’t kidding when she called it a precious life. She wanted all to understand what a gift it was.

Whenever I think of Thich Nhat Thanh, I think of mindfulness. Breathing deep and moving slow. I think of the way this deep inner peace can be something that extends outward and gives way to more peace on the earth.

Jane Goodall makes me think of a deep companionship and respect for nature. Bryce Harper makes me think of stepping up to the moment. bell hooks makes me think of being transformed by love.

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Working on your CORE (message)

What can you say over and over again?

PHILIPPE LAZARO

DEC 26

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Here’s the one bit of advice I give to creators and changemakers all the time…

Whenever I think of the late poet Mary Oliver, I think of that quote: What is it you want to do with your one wild and precious life. I think of how a lot of her poetry evoked images of moving through life with a deep appreciation for one’s present surroundings and taking it all in. Like, she wasn’t kidding when she called it a precious life. She wanted all to understand what a gift it was.

Whenever I think of Thich Nhat Thanh, I think of mindfulness. Breathing deep and moving slow. I think of the way this deep inner peace can be something that extends outward and gives way to more peace on the earth.

Jane Goodall makes me think of a deep companionship and respect for nature. Bryce Harper makes me think of stepping up to the moment. bell hooks makes me think of being transformed by love.

All these people did so many things with their life. They certainly had more than one message to get out there. With the exception of Bryce Harper, all of them have written multiple books.

But in spite of how much they put out into the world, I can almost instantly think of the truth that each figure has brought to the surface. Truths I immediately associate with them.

People are deep and complex, but our brains are naturally reductive. People, organizations, and movements with an important message to get out there manage to work with this limitation, understanding that people naturally look for that one message you have to put out into the world. The thing you’d give your TED Talk on, if you will.

Core messages are at the core of the latest Creative Changemaker…

Of course I believe people’s lives are expansive and that in our closest circles, we won’t necessarily be remembered for ‘core messages,’ but rather core memories and moments. But when it comes to public persuasion, rhetoric, and mass communication, yeah, the core message thing is kind of the way to go.

This is why I’ve encouraged every organization I’ve worked with to really hone their core message. What is that one big bold statement you want to put out into the world? What big belief do you want to challenge people with? The most prominent social movements tend to be those that make a bold assertion right up front.

After I hype up the importance of a core message like that, though, it can be a little intimidating to figure out how to come up with one. But, there’s a fair chance you already have one. What is the ethos through which you carry out your mission?

If you’re confused by what that means, start with what’s clear. Describe the work you do. Do you plant trees? Campaign against mass incarceration? Promote literacy? That most likely comes easier.

Then ask why. Why do you plant trees? To create a better planet? Do you campaign against mass incarceration because it’s one of the main vehicles for perpetuating racial injustice?

The ‘why’ question turns out to be very important for this process. So much so that you can find value in asking it several times. There’s a popular idea in many creative circles of going five whys deep. Basically asking why to your own responses about five times will result in the discovery of a deeper truth.

What that might look like is an inciting incident. An experience or a memory you have that is so salient it’s created a new core philosophy for you. And that philosophy that undergirds everything you do, that just might be your core message.

Having a core message is helpful, because you can then work to ensure every bit of communication leads towards your core message. If you’re ever stuck in a challenging interview or public conversation, it gives you something to try and steer the conversation towards every time.

But of course, the core message is way more than your in-case-of-emergency statement. It’s your rally cry. It’s your why.

And it’s something that you believe could change the world, if enough people hear it and fully buy in to the idea.

Creating good bad guys

A theory of what makes for memorable villains

I grew up in a good era for bad guys.

Between the Disney villains of the 90’s, the Arkham Asylum bunch in Batman The Animated Series, and the constant persistence of Team Rocket, it seemed like a good time for bad. No doubt these antagonists added life into many of the stories I grew up with.

Over time, villains have gotten deemphasized in storytelling, both for kids and adults. In some ways that reflects a lot of growth, thinking of evil aim relation to actions and choices rather than as a binary where some people are just bad and others aren’t. Many recent Disney and Pixar entries have skipped having a bad guy all together.

That said, there is something satisfying about a good bad guy.

As someone fond of villains, and especially the villain song in musical entries, here are a few things I’ve learned about antagonism in storytelling.

I share my theory of great villains in my latest Creative Changemaker. Check it out here:

The biggest bad doesn’t have to be a human.

Sometimes it’s better when it isn’t one.

By that I don’t just mean a villain can also be an lion like Scar or a ghost or something. Villains don’t always need to be embodied in a character.

In fact, even if you are going to have a traditional villain, it’s helpful if there’s an even bigger evil that is simply made observable through the choices and actions of that character.

For example, in the Batman The Animated Series episode Heart of Ice, which won an Emmy for giving us the backstory of Mr. Freeze, which was actually really tragic. While Mr. Freeze is of course a classic villain, the actual force for evil was his internalized bitterness.

In a lot of really well told stories, there’s more focus on showing the harms done of a character deficit or the toxicity of a particular evil in the world than creating a character who’s bad just cause they’re bad.

Thinking in these terms is particularly helpful since a lot of my storytelling work is applied to campaigns and nonprofit work. An environmental nonprofit doesn’t necessarily need to reintroduce cartoonish polluters from old Captain Planet episodes to effectively work with villains. They simply need to pick something like overconsumption or separation as a big baddie to rally against.

A great antagonist has a decision-making journey running parallel to the hero…

with a big decision taking diverging courses, showing us the difference in consequence.

That was a mouthful but lemme try to explain my biggest theory around well written villain plots.

Often heroes and villains face a similar struggle. They just make one big decision different from one another that entrenches one as a hero and the other as opposite.

Big Hero 6 is perhaps my favorite example of this. Both the main character and main villain are faced with grief. However, while one processes his grief and learns to let go of things that helped him along the way, the other becomes fixated on reversing tragedy.

The Aaron Burr - Alexander Hamilton foils also illustrate this really well, where one learns to hold ambition a little more loosely and the other clings on more firmly.

I see this pattern repeated so consistently I’ve learned to start looking for it across different stories I come across. Whenever there’s a character who plays a clear antagonist, it’s there.

The closer a villain comes to winning, the more impressive the story.

Of course, right? 

It’s part of what made Infinity War so memorable. The bad guy won in a way that seemed so permanent and we had to wait a full year to figure out where things 

Even though we recognize the value this brings to our stories, it’s often hard for us to go there as storytellers and as humans.

Maybe it’s because we fall in love with our characters a bit and want to minimize their suffering?

Maybe because in real life we wish our moral victories could arrive in a more linear fashion, with no backlash or regression.

But I often remember that conflict is what drives a story, and in real life, being conflict averse is often unhealthy.

Storytelling has helped me appreciate the value of conflict in real life relationships. It’s not something to be feared, and it’s an opportunity to drive the relationship further forward.

Likewise, being more open to conflict in real life has made me a better storyteller. Conflict, when done well, can strengthen the fibers of a relationship, both at an individual and macro level.

The art of a compelling villain is more sophisticated that many realize. But at some level we probably recognize that there’s something special about a well crafted antagonist. We celebrate the ones that we love to hate.

Ohtani

Shotime in Hollywood, of course! Seemed inevitable.

It’s hard to overstate what a ridiculously historical career we get to watch unfold. Here’s hoping this signing means it unfolds on bigger stages.

Thank you for not putting on an NY uniform. Cheering for you always, Ohtani.**

**except for in the NLCS when I’ll need you to go 0-4 with 3 Ks to Ranger Suarez, of course.

A visit to Banojibi

The coolest eco-village in Bangladesh

One of the coolest places I got to visit when I was in Bangladesh was Banojibi.

This is an eco-village set up in the Sundarbans. It’s a place where people can learn climate adaptation techniques, and harness skills in sustainable farming. You’ll find guest houses where tourists can stay and get an in depth look at what makes the Sundarbans unique.

You’ll find hydroponic training centers, acres of farmland and fish ponds. Once members hone their sustainable farming skills, they’ll be able to share them with the surrounding communities.

This area is solar powered, there are Water ATMs where members can access clean water… you’ll find sites where people learn about weather and wildlife. And you’ll see storehouses where people are making products from the mangrove forests that they can sell. This enterprise helps them value the protection of their forest while providing an income.

Bangladesh is an interesting country as far as climate is concerned. It holds unfortunate claims like Dhaka being the world’s most densely packed city, and one of the most polluted cities in the world. It’s impossible to make a list of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world without including Bangladesh, its tendency to sink underwater, and the threat of intensifying cyclones on its coast.

However, it’s also a hub of climate resilience. This is where I’ve seen some of the coolest grassroots projects designed to bolster a community’s ability to withstand storms and disasters.

Banojibi means “those who rely on the forest.” Most people in the Sundarbans have historically relied on farming for survival. Banojibi features farming education and training areas for more sustainable approaches to agriculture.

Natural disasters due to climate change are increasingly severe in the Sundarbans. Forming weather clubs can help put locals in charge of their own disaster risk reduction.

Water scarcity is widespread on the coast of Bangladesh and many families still lack access to safe drinking water. Water ATMs help to provide more efficient storage and water access. In coastal Bangladesh, there are still many villages where electricity is unavailable, so Banojibi is a hub of solar energy, providing these resources in a clean way.

The Sundarbans have incredible biodiversity but a number of its species are critically endangered. Building local knowledge on the importance of wildlife is a very important issue. Training people on products that can be sustainably made and sold from mangroves can help build economic sufficiency while encouraging locals to better protect the mangrove forest.

The people of Banojibi are not only focused on averting disaster, but also extending new opportunities that come attached to healtheir ecosystems. The Sundarbans’ ecotourism potential is strong. Visitors are able to stay in guest cottages in Banojibi, and the meals are incredible.

Andre 3000

One thing I’ve been thinking about quite a bit lately is what it looks like to have your creative expression shift around as you get older.

I’ve seen so many of the bands and artists I loved when I was younger enter a new stage as legacy artists. When I’m with creative peers, I take note of the median age of a room, and wonder at what age do people in this discipline typically peak? Step back?

I know I’ll always want to keep making stuff, but there’s a difference between being a Chevy Chase, who keeps trying to run the same things out there, and a Steve Martin, who keeps finding new ways to reinvent.

I’d like to thank André 3000 for yet another example of what that looks like. Good flutin’

Is Kolkata really the City of Joy?

Kolkata has a pretty cool nickname.
The City of Joy.

Why?
Some of the answers you’ll hear are how Kolkata makes a priority out of art and culture, intellect and philosophy and literature. People gather intentionally to talk about these things, and they’re more of an emphasis here compared to cities like Mumbai or Bengaluru that are more industrious. The cost of living tends to be lower. The pace a bit slower. And all this is kind of true.

But the nickname also came from the book City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre, a French author.

This book was set in a slum where poverty was rampant, and life was really difficult, but people were still happy. Really happy. People believe that life is worth living and their slum is named Anand Nagar, which more or less translates to City of Joy.

I don’t exactly love the trope of “they’re very poor, but they’re so happy!” It’s a way we often romanticize poverty that obscures our motivation to actually do something about it. But for people who’ve long assumed the pathway to happiness is through material wealth, this image challenges people’s priorities in a way that’s helpful. Back when the book was written in 1985, I imagine it was a more widely held view.

While the origin story isn’t my favorite, Kolkata does live up to its nickname in a lot of ways.

Making room for the heaviness

Let’s be real, the world has been exceptionally tragic lately. Even for those of us who’ve seen a pretty steady stream of horrific news stories throughout our lifetimes… the past few weeks have felt even more intensified. It’s been truly hard to watch as groups and countries and parties come to violence and the most innocent people end up paying the price.

Alongside the tragedy has come an especially high level of toxic discourse. Each horrific image elicits justifiably strong feelings, but as the world’s emotions have been running higher, we haven’t been in a great space for hearing each other out and making room for what the other person is going through.

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Added a new episode of Creative Changemaker today and this one’s a bit different.

It’s a call to pause and actually feel how heavy things are right now.

I’m a solution-oriented person. I normally fill the role of finding the positive and pointing towards it. But there’s a clarity you gain by sitting and feeling the heaviness of what’s happening that you can’t get any other way.

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One thing I’ve observed is people who would normally be on the same page when it comes to most things being shocked to find themselves at odds lately. And not just at odds, but disappointed and disgusted with each other's actions. It seems truly reprehensible for our friends to be acting the way they do, because it seems like they’re supporting those responsible for the news images that have been breaking our heart. But of course, it’s being fueled by their own heartbreak.

No matter how each person might be differently processing the world’s latest tragedies, there are common parts to the experience. Outrage. Uncertainty. Devastation. And a motivation to act in a way that might put an end to it.

To be clear, this isn’t meant to be both-siderism. While peace and reconciliation might be an ultimate goal, so many important conversations are sidestepped and so many injustices are allowed to keep going by acting as if the responsibility for aggression is always even. I am all about context. So much of my storytelling and creative work exists to put proper context around things.

Truth and context are usually required before reconciliation and unity can be had.

But before truth and context?

We need to grieve.

Actually process the reality of what is happening, the ugliness of what we do to each other. It is the hardest part of the process to sit through, one that makes you want to escape almost as soon as you start. But I’ve seen again and again that things are dealt with so much better once their emotional weight is properly felt.

I feel like a lot of people are putting their pain out into the world, but few people feel like their pain is being fully heard. If anything, there’s a lot of dismissiveness going around.

I started to prize sadness a lot more when I stopped seeing it as an unpleasant experience to avoid, and instead saw it as a signal to my heart. It was a signal that whatever I happened to be grieving had value, and importance.

I also believe that sadness gives us a perspective that can’t be arrived at any other way.

It’s just like one of my favorite quotes by Oscar Romero. Some things can only be seen through eyes that have cried.

When I think of some of the best work I’ve made, work that I thought was creatively satisfying, work that’s moved people… it’s work I’ve done very shortly after some heartbreak. Especially heartbreak going on at global scale.

We’ve got some of that going on right now. And we definitely had a lot of that in the year 2020, which is about the time I really started focusing on properly leaning into what breaks my heart.

I learned there are so many ways to respond. You can join a demonstration. You can draw. You can pray. You can cry. You can write. Donate. Listen. Learn more.

But what’s important is to go through it, not to avoid it.

How to sound more humane when talking about population

Population is important to talk about. There are a lot of false conceptions about the concern of overpopulation, and the best way to counteract false information is to widely spread accurate information- especially at times when the subject is not front and center of everyone’s minds and thus controversial by nature.

A lot of people do cite the environment as a reason why population growth scares them. As climate change continues to exacerbate due to our failure to keep our emissions under control, anything that threatens to add to our emissions threatens the stability of the whole planet. With that in mind, hearing that the world is continuing to add to the number of people seems concerning. It’s increasingly cited as a reason why people are wanting to avoid having children.

Any decision a person makes in that regard is entirely up to them. But when it turns into rhetoric that’s anti-kids in general, things start to get dicey. And when you start to look at where the population is growing, and in whose direction these fears are being directed, you can quickly see where things have the potential to go really wrong. 

An environmental topic that’s getting so much attention is important to talk about, but it’s also important to make sure we’re well informed going into such discussions. Here are three important things to keep in mind.

Fears of overpopulation have been used to stoke ethnic violence

This isn’t anything new. Fascist regimes from the World War 2 era, and even earlier have justified their violent policies and attempts to exterminate entire groups of people by claiming that there are too many of them. That they will quickly outnumber the dominant population, unless something is done.

Oftentimes, this is paired with language like ‘swarm’ or ‘infestation’ used to dehumanize the population to which fear is being directed. Many will often talk about the ecological damage that this poses to the nation. What happens as a result is the over policing of minority areas, militant border controls, and a surge in racist behavior and attitudes. 

The people behind mass shootings in recent years have often cited the environment and population as reasons to justify their actions, from Buffalo, New York to Christchurch, New Zealand.

Why does this matter? When talking about population and addressing these concerns, we need to ensure that we’re not furthering or fueling rhetoric that can have such horrific outcomes.

The fastest growing countries are the lowest emitters

Where is population growing the fastest? 

This year, the top ten fastest growing populations are as follows: Syria, South Sudan, Niger, Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Benin, Uganda, DR Congo, and Chad. You know how much these countries contribute to global carbon emissions? Hardly anything.

These countries put such a low burden on the environment that they don’t even have an overshoot day (the day on the calendar when a country has consumed more resources than a planet can put out over the course of a year.) In contrast, Canada and the US reach their overshoot day on March 13.

Why is this important? Because the environment and climate change are frequently cited as reasons why population is getting out of hand. When that happens, inhumane and often-violent policies meant to curb population growth are directed at groups of people where it is growing the fastest. It’s important to note that if we all adopted their lifestyle, we wouldn’t be in such a problematic position. More of our efforts should be spent towards adjusting our consumption habits and the production processes taken to meet those demands.

Population tends to decrease as quality of life increases

There is a humane way to help bring down population levels, and it’s actually a very humane way: eliminating poverty. All throughout the world, one of the most consistent trends has been that as you improve people’s income and quality of life, people tend to have fewer children per household. In Burundi, the average household consists of 6 people, while in Norway, this number is barely over 2.

There are all kinds of reasons these happen. Social improvements are strongly linked to opportunities for women, and educated girls tend to have children later. They also have fewer children, and can provide them with healthier lives. There is less of a demand to have a large amount of children due to factors like high infant mortality as well.

While the dynamics of how this works are varied, it’s a remarkably consistent trend. From Italy to the Philippines to Poland and South Africa, you can see that declines in population growth are linked to increases in income. 

What this means is that a lot of these concerns of overpopulation can be addressed by increasing opportunities and decreasing poverty. Of course, as income increases, so do carbon emissions. But, countries experiencing economic growth have a strong opportunity to make important investments in clean energy that will pay off for generations. One great example can be seen in how Kenya over the past decade has expanded electricity access for the majority of the country and how most of it is derived cleanly.

Most people who echo fears around overpopulation aren’t doing so in a sinister way, but out of genuine concern. However, knowing these details can help make a world that is a little less likely to fall for some of the harmful ways population rhetoric has been played against people in the past.

The Children Are Always Are

The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe; and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognizing this may be incapable of morality.

–James Baldwin

Population: Misunderstood

Are there any topics related to climate change as misunderstood as overpopulation?

Well… there are a lot of misunderstood climate topics out there, but population issues are definitely among the top.

So often, I hear people express concerns about there being too many people in the world, putting a strain on the availability of resources, from a place of sincere concern. And it’s easy to understand the thought process behind that concern! But often that gets voiced in a way that sounds dangerously close to the rhetoric behind some of history’s most terrible acts.

While population will probably always be a pretty topic, there are a few things that people should be aware of going into the conversation. And where better to get into it, than the new most populated country on earth!

Putting nature back in our collective imagination

I recently learned about a study that kind of made me sad.

Researchers performed an analysis of media, literature, and stories from a wide sample of different times and cultures. What they found was that in relation to any other moment in history where we have recorded stories, nature plays the smallest role in the stories we’re telling today.

In other words? Nature used to play such a significant role in the stories we’d tell and pass on. The legends of ancient civilizations contain floods and fires and earthquakes. Often they’re proxy actions on behalf of gods and heroes. When a hero set off on a journey, a large portion of the obstacles they’d encounter along the way are set in place by natural elements.

Today? We have so many stories- books, films, shows, where the characters hardly interact with nature or acknowledge it.

While this is sad, it’s really not that surprising. We probably would have predicted it. Nature takes a diminished role in our collective imagination as our own relationship with nature is very strained.

For one, we have the widespread destruction of nature brought about by land exploitation and climate change. On top of that, we spend so much time living lifestyles that have us insulated from nature. Where our metal capsules on wheels shuttle us from one insulated building to another to perform our daily tasks.

I would love to see nature restored in the collective imagination. That would be worth doing for its own sake. But also, it would probably help us be more conscious of nature as an important actor in our lives, and maybe, just maybe, nudge us towards better stewardship.

But how do we do that, especially with stories set in the present day? It doesn’t need to be done with a heavy hand with the Lorax making a cameo in every direction. But there are a few ways to massage it in for more depth.

How do characters relate to nature?

One thing to figure out is how each character relates to nature. Are they at peace with it? Scared with it? Detached from it?

Establishing a relationship is always important for driving a scene forward, and our relationship with nature is no exception.

In many cultures, the way a person treats nature was a barometer of their moral condition. While we don’t need to make it as obvious as the villain always being somebody who just chucks their disposable cup out the window while driving down the highway, we might simply ask the question while doing our own backstory development. That relationship will likely inform many of the decisions a character makes moving forward.

Some examples of this from stories 20 years old or younger include: Wild, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, There Will Be Blood, Minari, Room, and Killers of the Flower Moon

In what ways is nature itself a character?

I realize that when done poorly, this can be a cheap for of Deus Ex Machina or forcing the plot forward, but when done well, it’s done really well.

Much like how human characters have a point of view and influence things around them, there’s no firm reason for not giving nature a similar treatment. In many cultures this wouldn’t have been odd… just a stand in for a higher power.

One common approach- perhaps the most common approach to characterizing nature in today’s stories- is an adversarial one. Say, The Revenant. And while that’s totally fair game and good stories have come out of that angle for as long as we’ve recorded stories, perhaps it says something about our present day that this is our default way of making nature as a character.

I gently nudge thinking about other personifications of nature. As an upholder of consequence. As a nurturer. As one that maintains the cycle of life and death. There are plenty of approaches.

For your own research, consider Beasts of the Southern Wild, Black Panther, Triangle of Sadness, Minari, Lunana, Over the Moon, Strange World

How do nature’s conditions support the plot?

Finally, there’s this question: how does nature mirror the story arc itself?

Okay, it was a dark and stormy night is a total trope at this point, but there’s a reason why it’s attained that status. No matter how predictable it is for us to link rain with sadness, darkness with mystery, hot sun with endurance… it still works. That’s because these associations are probably wired within us very deeply at some evolutionary level.

How high you want to turn the knob from subtle to cartoonish is entirely up to you and whatever you think best serves the world you are creating. And you might even think about subverting these expectations too.

Consider: Into The Wild, Parasite, Nope, Midnight Mass, The Expanse

Restoring nature's role in the collective imagination won’t happen overnight. But through the stories we tell, one story at a time, we can make things move.

The false promise but real potential of work

“Dream jobs” are often false promises if you stake your identity in them. But the right gig can help you fill your hours of the day more meaningfully.

Work has always been a fascinating topic for me. I think that’s largely because, in the United States, so much of our time, energy, and identity is invested in what we do for a living. To most, this is something that’s so taken for granted that it doesn’t stand out as unusual, until you leave the country and discover that this indeed isn’t how it is everywhere.

In fact, I remember studying as an exchange student in Australia, totally surprised by the way my host students would blow off an entire week’s worth of shifts at their jobs in order to spend the week with their exchange students. And while some of that could be chalked up to these being food service jobs for high schoolers, in Turkey, I experienced grown professionals taking four hour long “lunch breaks” to show me around.

In the U.S., work is so central to our lives. It’s why I have a three year old who's already been asked more times than I can track what he wants to be when he grows up. A career path is painted up to be one of the most important things in a person’s life. And if that’s the world you live in, there’s only so much you can do to escape its importance. Even if this isn’t a value you hold to the same degree, living in the U.S. means you’ll likely be spending most of your waking hours on the clock.

I recognized this early in life, which is why I spent so many years trying to put myself in a position to do meaningful work I enjoyed. And I truly love what I’ve been doing for as long as I can remember. I’ve experienced the “dream job” and all that it can bring, along with all of its deficits and what it’s unable to provide. Below are my takes on what a job can and cannot provide. Bear in mind, this is from the perspective of somebody who has more or less won the career lottery. Aren’t our takes always a function of our experiences, anyways?

In the U.S., when people introduce themselves, they most typically begin with a job title or function. In other settings, this question is often answered relationally. I’m a daughter, a friend, a brother, etc. But in the U.S., I’m in finance, I’m a teacher, I’m a designer are much more common answers.

Work can bring people a sense of identity. That’s for sure. But what it can’t bring is a well-rounded sense of identity. Most jobs and workplaces call for specialization, or narrowing one’s focus of interest. This means curbing or divesting away from many of our interests. And it takes time away that we could be investing in relationships.

I’m particularly intrigued by the case of the freshly retired athlete, who must navigate a new identity apart from the sporting skill that defined them for years and years. Can it be done? Sure. But it’s not easy, and not all former athletes see the same success. For those who do, it can be a profound growth moment.

Although work can’t provide a well-rounded identity, that doesn’t mean it can’t give you something to do that’s an expression of your identity. And if you work anything resembling a typical job, work is going to represent such a large portion of your time that it’s really helpful if you can find something to do that you enjoy and find valuable overall… as opposed to something that feels like rote labor. If anything, the thing that I would find most persuasive towards getting a good job is the fact that work represents so much of your time.

That said, there are many ways to give the way you use time meaning. You could be doing work that helps people and solves problems. You could be doing something that you enjoy so much time seems to stand still. You could be doing something that you feel lukewarm towards, but doing it alongside people you really like might give it meaning. An ideal work scenario doesn’t have to check all these boxes (but that’s great if it does!) You just don’t want the way you spend around 2/3rds of your waking hours to be something that actively makes you miserable.

In younger years, the aspiration of landing a dream job was always one that dangled in front of me, like the motivation to keep plugging away through school and all kinds of extracurriculars. While I never felt quite as money-motivated as many peers, I was still drawn to the allure of wanting to excel at something. I also wanted work that gave me an opportunity to keep doing new and novel things, rather than doing the same thing every day. The mental image of an assembly line type of occupation really felt like a threat.

I lucked out in that right after college I landed the best internship I could imagine, combining my personal love for adventure with an opportunity to work in international human rights. That led to subsequent internships that were similar in nature. Those internships turned into graduate programs, then entry level gigs, then a position of climate communications and storytelling I continue to grow in.

I’ve landed what’s essentially my dream job and discovered how good it can be, only to simultaneously discover all the things it doesn’t bring to my life. It’s a luxury I’m lucky to have, and it’s incomplete as a marker of identity. Over the past few years, I’ve been riding waves back and forth from expecting a little too much out of what I do to underestimating the joy it can bring. I’ve found my way to a better place, a place that pretty much comes with experience. But I think a younger version of myself would benefit from knowing what to expect from work, and what to look for elsewhere.

Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan appreciation post.

For all the Biblical allegory in this man’s lyrics, his life sure reads like the Book of Job, and when I thought it couldn’t get more raw than Carrie & Lowell, he releases Javelin on the heels of coming out by sharing the death of his partner, all on top of Giulian Barre.

I’m gonna need a lot more time with the new album to have all my reactions to it cooked, but off the bat, I love the words he released them with:

“Relationships can be very difficult sometimes, but it’s always worth iit to put in the hard work and care for the ones you love, especially the beautiful ones, who are few and far between. If you happen to find that kind of love, hold it close, hold it tight, savor it, tend to it, and give it everything you’ve got, especially in times of trouble. Be kind, be strong, be patient, be forgiving, be vigorous, be wise, and be yourself. Live every day as if it is your last, with fullness and grace, with reverence and love, with gratitude and joy. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Time Anxiety

Get your tickets.

A few months ago, I discovered @truthincomedydfw - a truly unique traveling show that blends a bunch of my favorite art forms. Different people will share pieces of their lives in the form of storytelling. Then, local comedians will do sets based on those stories. An artist will also be there, creating a piece live that ties it all together.

I get to be one of the storytellers on November 4th, and I’m extremely excited. I’m going to be sharing a story about bucket lists, time anxiety, and perhaps a peek behind the scenes about why I’m the way I am. I’m so happy this platform exists.

Saturday Nov. 4
Tenth Avenue Theatre in Downtown San Diego
Get tickets while they’re on sale.

This is Ethiopia

As a country, Ethiopia’s got some serious bragging rights:

Birthplace of coffee
Discovery site of some of the oldest human ancestor fossils
Natural wonders ranging from volcanoes to church forests
Incredible, incredible food
A beautiful language
Jazz
Successfully warded off colonization

If I were Ethiopian, I’d have so much pride about being from there. But I’ll take some secondhand pride for having had the chance to visit and make friends.

Exploring Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA IS perhaps one of Africa’s more polarizing cities

“You don’t really need to spend much time in Addis Ababa. It’s chaotic. If you want to get to talk to more people, leave the city.”

Generally, I agree.

Addis Ababa is the sort of city that acts as a gateway to Ethiopia. It’s a big urban hub, and because it’s the hub of Africa’s largest air carrier, it kind of serves as the welcome station to the continent.

When you have a city like that, generally you have locals who are less enthused by visitors, more hustle and crowds, and experiences that are more catered towards foreign visitors than locals.

But if you’ve got the right people with you and a willingness to go deeper, you can go beyond that layer and find the spirit of a place. In the case of Addis Ababa, it was a spirit of sweetness.

I only had a day in town before moving onwards to the Amhara region. I connected with Bule, a guide to Addis, who planned a whole itinerary of marketplaces, museums, and of course, good eats. I made a mistake on my way in, however. I assumed we would be arriving on a Friday evening. The plan was to get a night of sleep and wake up for a day of exploring on Saturday. However… we actually got in on Saturday morning, with barely over an hour to drop our bags off and make it through city traffic to meet up with Bule.

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This is Ethiopia

If you couldn’t tell, Ethiopia sure made an impression on me.

It’s easily one of the most fascinating countries I’ve ever been to. Perhaps the most fascinating??

There was such a richness to practically every cultural marker and fine detail. I couldn’t get enough of diving deep into its heritage and uncolonized legacy.

I’ve also been looking forward to releasing my first video from this trip. Here it is!

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Day tour of Addis

Our initial rendezvous was at a coffee shop on Cameroon Street… a fitting spot to start some time in Ethiopia. I went ahead and got started with a small cup, figuring I could use the energy boost right off the bat. I wanted to pace myself. I figured there would be plenty of coffee that day. Throughout my trip, coffee would be more of a steady cascade of cups throughout the day, rather than a single fuel stop.

We were joined by a couple of NGO workers from Angola and Mozambique, and then we were off to the marketplace.

The Shola Marketplace was the largest outdoor market in Addis Ababa, where all kinds of crafts and products were exchanged. The most vivid parts happened to be the stands full of spices and grains. Ethiopian cuisine is extremely aromatic and appealing to one’s sense of smell goes beyond the food on the plate. Burning incense and spice for the sake of enjoyment was a widespread practice.

Other vendors sold woven baskets; these were used to keep injera fresh. The sourdough flatbreads accompanied just about every meal. Even more elaborate were the woven table stands that looked a bit like large baskets. These were common gifts for new couples to bless a home. The vendors we came across were extremely friendly and not at all pushy, especially in comparison to similar settings I’ve visited. Their warmth made me think that the reputation for urban unfriendliness is often dealt a bit too soon.

Our next stop was to the National Museum of Ethiopia. I didn’t have a strong sense of what to expect there, but it turned out to be the current resting spot for Lucy– the remains of a human ancestor that was oldest in-tact set of fossils found at the time it was discovered. In Ethiopia in the 70s. I remembered learning about Lucy in the sixth grade, and it was a cool moment to have it sink in that the things I used to see in textbooks and magazines were now my real-life encounters.

I also loved the art and history section of the museum. Bule led us through a couple centuries worth of Ethiopian history in minutes, but did a comprehensive job. An art gallery on the top floor shined some local perspective on the religious and political history of the country and one thing became clear: there was a lot of pride in Ethiopia’s success at warding off Italian invasions, cementing their status as the lone uncolonized country in East Africa.

Bule also let us in on some of Ethiopia’s current challenges. I had been told by numerous people that so much of it came down to retaliatory intimidation of different ethnic groups. Shifts in power came with a desire to “even the score” that ultimately just kept conflict going. Bule shared that he used to work as a professor, but he preferred now working in tourism because he had to make fewer political decisions that could get him in trouble.

The museum worked up an appetite, and though we were told to save room for a food tour in the afternoon, we were quite ready to eat. We took the risk in declaring ourselves hungry. Ethiopia’s portion sizes tend to run incredibly large, so signing ourselves up for a big lunch ahead of a food tour might have put our appetites for the afternoon restaurants in jeopardy.

That said, Ethiopian food is something you rarely regret. Bule brought us to a restaurant by the museum, which happened to be in a converted home that once belonged to an emperor’s daughter. Our first proper meal in Ethiopia was a classic injera spread, accompanied by some of Ethiopia’s lagers. I have yet to find an Ethiopian beer I dislike, but this meal helped me find my favorite: habesha.

Lunch was followed up with some coffee. Temoka is perhaps the most beloved coffee brand in-country, and we visited their flagship store. There they proudly displayed how their initial equipment was all commandeered from Italy.

As the afternoon progressed, we went out to Mount Entoto, the highest point of Addis Ababa. Up top, we got to visit both a church and a park. St. Maryam’s Orthodox Church was my first encounter with the rich religiosity of Ethiopia. I knew that the Tewahido Orthodox Church had a rich legacy throughout the country, but now I had a chance to witness how much devotion believers had on display, fully bowing at the front of the church, kissing its gates.

The park at Mount Entoto was a very relaxed area that featured several monuments and a restaurant. It had such a calm feel, and the crisp air added to it.

Our return to the city set off a food tour, but because of our diminishing energy and limited appetite after our lunch… we were skeptical of how much food we would ultimately have room for. In order, we had:

• Shiro: a creamy paste of stewed lentil served with injera

• Fried tilapia: this one was a surprise. I did not expect to be able to eat a whole fish that afternoon, but it was fried to be so crisp and airy.

• Tibs: Bits of chopped roasted beef that are popular as a snack.

The last of those items was a typical meal you’d have with beers with friends. I decided to replace the beer with Turbo- Ethiopia’s party drink. While the combination of sprite, lager, white wine, and fruit sounds chaotic, it was alright.

Addis Ababa is a blend of traditions, cultures, and histories from all across Ethiopia… a country full of inner diversity. That makes its capital a rich place to explore. I imagine I’ll be back soon enough. It’s a gateway to Africa, after all.