Yesterday, my family celebrated my Grandma's life, and below is a copy of the eulogy I shared. From a "maybe there's more" perspective, the excerpt I'm trying to hold onto is that perhaps we’d all be better people if we channeled the attitudes of grandparents who have managed past the harder parts of raising kids …
I once stayed a few months in a Tanzanian city called Mwanza. I’d spent most of a year trying to find ethical volunteer opportunities overseas. In the process, I’d learned that was a mostly-impossible task, at least for someone without relevant training/skills. That conclusion was one of the reasons I eventually pursued a master’s degree …
Six years ago, I almost lost my brother. I had just arrived in Barbados for a vacation and my mom phoned. If you’ve ever received a call where you know something is wrong before a word is spoken, you know the feeling I had when answering the phone. Kyle had been ambulanced from the side …
I’m unsure about ghosts. Do they exist? Maybe. Do they not exist? Maybe. But I do romanticize connections — or what some people might call coincidences. A couple of years ago, for example, I was meant to be on vacation but was instead overthinking and over-worrying a work problem. While I was fussing, I set …
When we told our grandpa we planned to get married one day, we weren’t much older than in the above photo. Grandpa responded that cousins aren’t allowed to get married, and I remember feeling perplexed. Why wouldn’t I be allowed to marry this boy, when playing together was one of the best parts of my …
A few birthdays ago, a friend gave me a letterboard. More recently, I decorated my house for Christmas and changed the sign to read “Merry & Bright,” as seen in this photo. I didn’t think much about choosing the phrase. It seemed like an appropriate – maybe even cute – addition to a light-up signboard, …
For anyone who’s read some of my increasing skepticism about social media, it’s probably no surprise that I sometimes roll my eyes at today’s use of the word “influencer.” But Instagram divas aside, there are certainly people who’ve had huge influence on my life and personality. Earlier this week, one of my grandfathers would have …
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I decided to change career tracks a couple years ago, and ended up going back to school. I think one of the best things at any level of education is the people you meet, and I was lucky to make a bunch of new friends – including several …
My grandma likes to talk. In our society, we often gather together for birthdays, funerals, weddings, graduations, and so on. It feels nice to celebrate the good times together and to offer comfort during the hard times. But my grandma lives by that philosophy every day, not just the milestone moments. She's not from a …
Maybe There's More 