Life Advice
/Health
Millennial Life: The Waiting Room Wasteland
Waiting rooms have become a wasteland. I travel it with the same promised oasis in my hand, catching up on emails or scrolling through social media. However, I still like to peek up and look around to see who else might have drunk enough from the fountains that allow us to forget about the desert around us.
As someone who lives in an actual ...Read more
Millennial Life: Reproductive Health Care Is a Human Right
In 2024, reproductive health care is at a critical juncture for women, and as a millennial, I've witnessed our rights erode over the years. For my generation, reproductive health care is not merely about access to birth control or abortion services. It's about bodily autonomy, equality, and the ability to shape our futures. We've seen strides ...Read more
Millennial Life: The Meandering Path of Identity
I have hopes for my 40s. One was that I wouldn't continue to be the youngest person in the room. But as I followed a troop of older women carrying yoga mats into the gym, and then spent time in the weight room with equally older men, those hopes were dashed -- for now. But even if your own gray hair doesn't compete with those around you, time ...Read more
Millennial Life: From Stranger to Councilor
Therapist waiting rooms are inherently awkward. We're all working through something. I'll sit and chat in a doctor's office, especially with the older generations who aren't as glued to their phones. At the therapist, I've picked sliding into a seat and being riveted to my small screen.
This week, though, I sat, hunched over, and caught a: "...Read more
Millennial Life: She Was a Good Dog
My dog, who emitted her typical deep sigh seconds before the medicine stopped her heart, just didn't understand the fuss around her -- and why she couldn't quite get up to romp around with everyone as she had before.
She was a good dog, but she was not a perfect dog. In the haze of grief that settles around the stark finality of death, there ...Read more
Millennial Life: Asking Too Much From Our Imperfect Systems
I've been breaking my noggin over some proposed ordinances the last few weeks, asking nearly everyone who happens across my path what they think of these proposed laws that I'll have to vote on as city councilor. And I mean everyone from hospital staff to store owners, from nonprofit administrators to my therapist, who really gets to hear more ...Read more
Millennial Life: Go, Elder Gen X, Go
I don't envy her in the least. Even in my brief seven-month tenure as an elected official, one the worst concepts to process has been the expectations of others. But the weight of the free world that descended on Vice President Kamala Harris is a burden I wouldn't wish on anyone. Hers isn't just a campaign; it's a simmering electricity to "not ...Read more
Millennial Life: When It Doesn't Age Well
There are a few things that show your age. Wrinkles. Misused slang. Ankle socks, it turns out. No matter how well you think you might be aging, there are things trapped in time that may hold a special place for you but aren't things that age well. No, we're not talking about the government yet; I'm talking about old movie trailers.
I tried ...Read more
Millennial Life: Blocked but Not Beaten
Ah, writer's block -- the invisible brick wall that every writer inevitably faceplants into. As a millennial, I've waded through all the unprecedented events, but trying to parse them to share weekly is hard. The cursor is tapping its little pixelated foot, impatiently waiting for me to birth a sentence worthy of the digital page. I've never ...Read more
Millennial Life: The Hard Ask
I've settled down to write at my kitchen table with my son playing on his computer across from me. I catch his eyes, and his cheeks squish as he smiles, probably still charmed by me being the Block Mom yesterday when I fed him and a few stray kids that haunt our street popsicles, then soup. My daughter was at a pool party, so an impromptu ...Read more