Letting go of your running shoes is never easy. From walkers to runners, we all find it difficult to admit the inevitable time of departure from our favorite pair. The upper starts to fray, the rubber underneath starts to wear down, yet, you’ve molded the soul to fit your foot perfectly. It isn’t fair. What used to be the pair, turned on you and became a liability for your legs and feet. …

I’m not saying at 29 years old that I’m on a mission to post selfies everyday, but sometimes when I take a step back, I remember how cool it is that I’ve truly and actually unlearned the habit that used to force me to post curated selfies in the first place.

I quickly realized that I used to see selfies as high pressured posts, and an easy target for my fragile self-esteem and awaited criticism from others. There are way more people in this world that choose the curated, influencer feed, and it’s pretty clear that they post new content…

Running is a mental game. You can train all you want, but you still won’t win if you’re not mentally prepared on race day. Great athletes know this, from Michael Phelps to Usain Bolt. Being a great runner isn’t just about putting in the miles, and buying the right shoes, it’s also about being ready for a grueling finish and inevitable pain face that follows suite.

Of course, pain faces aren’t always reserved for the end of the race, but they often happen in moments when we push our bodies past limitless expectations. As elite runners have proved to us…

Get rid of everything you think you know about the movie: Bliss on Amazon Prime. My fiancé and I thought this would be a sci-fi thriller we could get excited about, as the preview promised an altered reality starring Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek. The movie by Mike Cahill, isn’t a sci-fi movie about a simulation at all, rather, a painful human experience seen through the lens of spiraling drug addicts, homelessness and mental illness.

It’s obviously not Owen Wilson or Salma Hayek’s fault. Their performances made this movie bearable, however, I watched this movie on false pretenses of what…

In recent weekend moments, I realized that I’ve never talked about my past experiences out loud, not really. I always find a way to wrap the bad experiences delicately into lessons learned. Another way I mask the truth from others and the lie that I’ve planted and grown myself, the idea that “I’m not good enough.” The broken record that has been overplayed in my mind, unable to rid myself of the self-doubt and fear to post something other than a “pretty selfie” and continuing to compare myself to others.

As I am typing this out, it sounds absolutely ridiculous…

I began to think about Shangri-La studio this morning after listening to the Broken Record podcast, I’m often taken back in daydreams to this serene landscape that artists and creatives flock to. Rick Rubin’s studio, that has housed musicians such as Adele, Ed Sheeran, Eminem, Kanye and many more, has a dirty little secret to inspiring artists from around the world: minimalism.

After seeing the Shangri-La studio tour, given to us by Zane Lowe of BBC Radio 1, I have to wonder if the key to creativity is an absence of design. Should schools be modeled after Shangri La?In …

Dear CDC Guidelines and the population that insists on reopening schools right now,

According to NPR, “Biden wants to reopen schools across the country within his first 100 days of office and has already signed executive orders to free up funding and increase personal protection equipment and testing for school districts” (3 Teachers on the Push To Return To the Classroom; NPR). This week the CDC administered new guidelines in order for schools to reopen safely including: proper hand washing, masking, ventilation, social distancing and excessive cleaning.

Across the country teachers have faced the uncertainty of returning to the classrooms…

Community changemaker. Outreach coordinator. Inspiring Rolemodel. Deescalating mentor. Dante Barksdale is being remembered this week after he was shot and killed in his home on Sunday morning. Barksdale wore many hats as a Safe Streets Coordinator in Baltimore’s violent-prone neighborhoods and is described as a kind, compassionate human being who was able to touch everyone. We remember Barksdale today as a changemaker who truly impacted his community and worked tirelessly to de-escalate conflicts and inspire the youth of Baltimore away from a life of crime and violence.

For more than a decade, Barkdale served as an Outreach Coordinator for the…