“All successful academics work hard at the craft of writing,” says stylish writing evangelist, Helen Sword (p. 86). Many find that hard work thrilling (Sword). My thesis barely passed. I wrote longwinded sentences in passive voice. But most students write, well, poorly. Why? Universities rarely teach writing outside of the English department, says Sword…. Read more »
Do you want to reach your peak? Stand crowned on Maslow’s top rung? Well, heed a rule for champs: the self-actualized help others. My boyfriend sways people to make healthy choices. If he meets smokers, he suggests the gym. If he chats with troubled teens, he urges school and sports. If he sees a teary-eyed… Read more »
Did you ever delight at igniting stink bombs? Mixing your chemistry set to get the right stench? Cracking that scent of eggs in Grandmas basement? Well, I have my own special little stink bomb. A prof slipped me a title of a book: Toxic Psychiatrya scientology book. Soon after, I ditched my medicine. For the… Read more »
Could your jokes make you the next Tesla or Edison? Yes, humor awakes creativityeven in the sciences. So, let’s joke around for some quantum leaps: What if you could eat yourself? Gobble your gallbladder and 3D print new growth? No animal would again suffer the butcher. Yet, we’d have no need for pigs, cows, and… Read more »
Will you do it all? I wanted to be the first woman in space. The first girl wrestler in junior high. The first woman to do, well, whatever. But fame comes with problems: egos, drugs, and gone tomorrows. In grade six, I wrote that I aspired to be a roller derby star. My teacher, not… Read more »
Would your heart bleed if Bill Gate’s riches caused him agony? If Hugh Heffner had had just about enough with women? If Jeff Bezos got sick of books? I got it wrong. In my last article, I listed the plusses of poverty. I said a lack of cash shrunk belly fat and upped desire. I… Read more »
Whats your oldest memory? I once crashed my adult-sized trike, sucked the black powder off match tips, and petted swarms of aphids crawling my skin. (Hey, they look like ladybugs.) Yet, I bet I remembered wrong. You see, we recall tidbits that never took place. Plus, we miss most of what really went down. And… Read more »
[t]../articles/images/2320-Fit-web.jpg[et]Have you felt torn by dollars? Have you ever got stuck with so much cash that you lost zest? Well, many have been beaten by the big bucks. I landed a job that paid handsomely. So handsome, my belly protruded. My brand-new clothes no longer zipped. My face popped with double-layer butter and double-scoop butterscotch… Read more »
Have you ever saw greatness in something useless? Nothing is trash. Not people. Not rotted food. Not foul words. Trash amounts to mere misuse of something valuable. Or mere misunderstanding. After all, someone’s trash is someone’s treasure. In genetics exists something called “junk DNA.” In other words, part of your DNA is misunderstood as worthless…. Read more »
Great people give. Some give advice. Some give encouragement. Others give miracles. Three people in my life give miracles. First, my mentor takes the disabled and turns them into advocates. She teaches them public relations, coaches them to run charities, and unleashes them into universities. Second, my boyfriend mentors hundreds of people. His mentees go… Read more »