Finding moments when success and failure are irrelevant.
Leaving the House
Remember that you don’t need a crisis to justify taking care of yourself
A year without goals
Did you have goals in 2020? Did they go to shit? We all had goals but also had to relinquish a lot of them. Relinquish, reframe, recreate.
City People
We’re living in a city during a pandemic. You live in the city for the culture. The people, the arts, the food, the sights, the energy. So when those things all stop, what do you do? I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Hearing stories of folks leaving cities en masse, yet I still feel... Continue Reading →
The Last Party
On February 29, 2020, Pete and I threw a party. We drank pints with dozens of our friends all night at Dovetail Brewery. After closing, we filled our home with friends till it was late: sitting with drinks on the floor, playing card games next to folks on the sofa, making cocktails in the kitchen. ... Continue Reading →
Amid the Horrors
The derecho hit on a Monday afternoon. I didn’t know what a “derecho” was, aside from human rights in Spanish, until suddenly I did. A hundreds-of-miles-long storm of hurricane winds tearing across the midwestern plains. Here: two hours of darkness, and winds, and rain, and trees falling across the city, onto cars and houses, blocking... Continue Reading →
Running Bodies
I've been running distance since I was 12. I started cross country in a middle school because I needed to make up for a gym credit. Hated it. Then it got easier, and I had friends, and it was actually fun. It's always been because it's fun. I have been incredibly fortunate to have been... Continue Reading →
Naming with Respect
In the course of a conversation recently, I told someone that I’d changed my name when I got married, a person who has only ever known me as Jamie Waters. I was totally taken aback by their reaction. I didn’t write down what he said (because it would have been rude), but here is the... Continue Reading →
A Labyrinth of Immigration
Many people, including me (though I have fewer now I hope), have misconceptions about American Immigration. They might assume that it is quite easy to get American citizenship, or that once you marry an American you are a citizen. People conflate Green Cards (legal residency) with citizenship. Perhaps they assume there is a streamlined system.... Continue Reading →
Short reflections on a year of activism
About a year ago, I started training to become a volunteer advocate with Rape Victim Advocates—a rape crisis center in Chicago. Today, after being on-call all night for RVA after well over 300 hours of on-call nights, training courses, and volunteer organization with them, I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve done in the past year... Continue Reading →
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