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City of Fog, City of Firsts
San Francisco taught me to love what arrives softly: the fog that erases and redraws the skyline, the bus doors sighing open, the way a street corner can be a chapel. This is a love letter to a city that keeps remaking me, gentler each time and somehow braver.
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10 Lessons I’ve Learned in My First Month as a First-Year Teacher
My first month teaching 6th grade has been a whirlwind of challenges, laughter, and lessons I didn’t expect. From learning that structure is kindness to realizing the power of small wins, here are ten takeaways from my first steps into the classroom as a new teacher.
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To the Children of Gaza, From a Teacher Who Wishes You Were in My Classroom
As I begin my first year as a full-time teacher, I can’t stop thinking of the children of Gaza. My students laugh and learn in safety, while you face rubble and fear. You deserve pencils, playgrounds, and peace—not airstrikes. You are not forgotten.
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How Pop Culture Made Me Who I Am
Pop culture has always been more than entertainment for me—it’s been comfort, connection, and survival. From Lorde’s Melodrama in high school to Lana Del Rey’s Norman Fucking Rockwell! in college, and the pandemic’s film marathons and music deep dives, pop culture has held me when nothing else could.
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Under the Vegas Lights, Beyoncé Gave Us Back America
Under the Vegas lights, Beyoncé closed her Cowboy Carter era with more than a concert, it was a cultural reckoning. The album that redefined country music and reclaimed Americana for Black voices showed why it deserved Album of the Year. For one night, America felt like it was listening.
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The Soundtrack of Us: A New Series on the People We Carry Through Song
Before I tell other people’s stories through their favorite songs, I’m starting with mine. These ten tracks shaped me—through heartbreak, discovery, family, queerness, and coming of age. From Sutton Foster to Phoebe Bridgers, this is the soundtrack of my life so far. Each song, a memory. Each lyric, a thread.
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Coming Home: A Love Letter to Small Towns
I didn’t choose Calaveras — but it became the backdrop to everything. From school hallways to fire season skies, from band rooms to heartbreak, this small town raised me in ways I’m still trying to name. This is a love letter to the place that shaped me, flaws and all.
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