I began to miss her before she was ever gone. In my early twenties, I stood on a hand-built, wooden bridge one hot and humid summer night in rural Georgia, cheeks seared by salt-filled tears, drunkenly swapping sad dog stories and contemplating my owns aging—contemplating the elephant in the room toward which each of her … More My Old Friend
During our junior year of college, my roommate, Tiffany, made a short film for her digital arts class as a first attempt at video editing. Knowing my penchant for acting foolish, she asked me to be in it. The film was titled, “…It Was Okay,” and chronicled two women’s very different days—one terrible and one … More The Secrets of Returning
When I was little, I remember being in my first big earthquake. We were living in a small rental house on the northern California coast. I crawled along the floor still lost in my own imagination as everything shook, working the movement into my own internal script of the current adventure I was off on. … More Aftershock
To quote myself, quoting someone else, a crisis can be defined as such, “(1) a crucial stage or turning point, and (2) an unstable or precarious situation.” Yesterday, I had officially lived for a quarter of a century, and although technically, based on Wikipedia’s current life expectancy of 81 for a female living in the … More Quarter-life Crisis
My relationship with D.C. started as an arranged marriage. Coming out of college as a Planning, Public Policy and Management major with an urge to be a part of the work that changes social structures, my union with D.C. was predestined. We did not immediately fall in love. But, a little over a year ago, … More I’m in Love
It has taken me a long time to write this. Sitting down to do so has been an arduous task. Every time I’ve committed hours of my day to telling this story, to capturing it for eternity into words, I’ve found other projects, tasks, or naps on which to focus. The tale is one that … More The Chevy and Me, A Hero’s Journey: History and the Call to Adventure
Wearing comfortable boots and warm layers, I walked through the chilly night along Massachusetts Avenue towards Thomas Circle. Passing 16th Street, I gazed down rows of city buildings framing the illuminated White House and Washington Monument, icons of American history. I smiled at this quintessential Washington, D.C. moment where I clearly saw where I was … More The Faces Behind HUD’s PIT Count Data
In a year, I’ll leave this place and go learn how to live off the land. The imagery of this thought consumed my mind as I sat in my cubicle one Friday past. I have a list of jobs I’d like to try. One of them is Policy WONK, and I’m lucky enough to be … More Success, Reconciliation, and Crisis
My journey through the twenties is ultimately a quest to establish a lasting union between my cliché love of pink, glittery giggles and my mind’s ongoing search for meaningful, intellectual nuggets. Every now and then, I stumble upon a point in time in which the two collide. With enough of these collisions, I believe I’m … More Learning to Let Go
About three years ago, my plane landed down in California with an origin of Athens, Greece. When I first came home from my six-month adventure, I was mailed a stack of papers on reverse culture shock. I quickly tossed them in the recycling bin. After all, it’s not like I was coming back from somewhere … More On Courage and Chaos
ROUGH OUTLINES 