By U.S. State
By Country
The Fat Lady Sings
by Julia LaPlaca | May 23, 2017 | Placeless
In opera we spend time on what matters in life: the big emotional peaks and abysses.
24K: A Birthday Challenge
by Matt Medendorp | May 21, 2017 | Grand Rapids
I had plenty of time to think about suffering.
OCD DCO OCD DCO
by Gabe Gunnink | May 20, 2017 | Placeless
Sometimes, though, I wonder where my personality ends and my OCD begins. Or if they’re distinct at all.
We Had KFC at my Grandmother’s Memorial Service
by Mary Margaret Healy | May 19, 2017 | Placeless
She’d never finish hers, but the smell of the chicken was enough to remind her we loved her.
Cheesecakes and IRB Forms
by Ben DeVries | May 18, 2017 | Placeless
Toward the end of the graduate bible study my wife and I led this past academic year, two things were almost always certain: cheesecakes and IRB forms.
Home Alone
by Geneva Langeland | May 17, 2017 | Michigan
As it turns out, bad habits don’t evaporate just because there’s nobody around to witness them.
May Reading Recommendations
by Andrew Knot | May 16, 2017 | Placeless
This month, I’d like to highlight a few things I’ve enjoyed reading online over the last couple of months, starting of course, with a piece on the perils of reading and writing online.
I Am Sadness
by Cassie Westrate | May 15, 2017 | Placeless
Sadness drives me toward community in a way joy never has. Sadness bids for honesty, serves as my greatest ally in empathy, checks my anger, and encourages me to look at another side of the story.
Wrinkles
by Will Montei | May 14, 2017 | Washington
I was once told the way that my eyebrows slope down symbolizes wisdom, but it looks like sadness, which might be the same thing.
With This Ring
by Catherine Kramer | May 13, 2017 | Pennsylvania
But regardless of his insistence that I follow his exact instructions or else something might go Terribly Wrong, I’d come too far to go back now.
Know the Place
by Abby Zwart | May 12, 2017 | Placeless
Here’s today’s morning devotion for the senior class.
In Defense of Ideals
by Elaine Schnabel | May 11, 2017 | Placeless
When I got home one day and saw him pathetically trying to work, I summoned up the vision of the ideal wife and did what she would do.
Something About Being a Man
by Bart Tocci | May 9, 2017 | Placeless
This is a theme with guys: if you’re going to be vulnerable, you do it right as you are walking away.
It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
by Paul Menn | May 8, 2017 | Grand Rapids
One of our neighbors is a nosy elderly lady named Linda. I love Linda.
Returning (A Love Letter)
by Caroline (Higgins) Nyczak | May 7, 2017 | Hungary, New York
First, this is a poem to say thank you
for taking me back to Budapest.
Freshman Orientation
by Josh deLacy | May 6, 2017 | Grand Rapids, Michigan
Will Montei made me feel infinitely better about moving to college and leaving everyone behind, simply because no matter how sad and alone I felt, at least I wasn’t him.
How Have You Been Praying about This?
by Alissa Anderson | May 5, 2017 | Placeless
When I hear someone say they don’t really pray, or that prayer is boring—both lines I have used—my first instinct is to question how they pray.
The Reality of Fear
by Ben Rietema | May 4, 2017 | Placeless
We think the world is going to hell. Every single generation has in some respect thought their world was going to hell. Right now, it’s not.
We All Say, “Love Your Neighbor”
by Meg Schmidt | May 3, 2017 | Placeless
I’d like your advice on this, because I’m not sure if I’ve done the right thing.
Finding Fungi
by Jacob Schepers | May 2, 2017 | Placeless
Oh, Lordy, those morels. In my estimation, they are the pinnacle of umami, of savory taste, with all of the satisfaction of a Sunday roast in a single bite.
Listening for Birdsong
by Katerina Parsons | May 1, 2017 | Honduras
“I’ve always heard birdsong,” my father told me in the car once. “But now I listen.”
The Ship
by Anonymous | Apr 30, 2017 | Placeless
I feared my grandfather’s model ship, meticulous and as long as my body.
The Dreaded Second Question—Or, In Defense of My Major
by Matt Beukema | Apr 29, 2017 | Placeless
Are those not good enough reasons to study history?
Relational Permutations
by Bekah (Williamson) Medendorp | Apr 28, 2017 | Placeless
Equation A: be ambitious and industrious, do not leave the workplace to the mercy of the weak minded men. Fight + win + conquer, all while rocking 6 inch stilettos and maintaining strong sex-appeal^10.
Wicked or Weakness
by Brad Zwiers | Apr 27, 2017 | Placeless
I don’t know. Two albums that have ripped my heart open, made me cry, left me at a loss for words. I think that’s transcendent.
Spring Break 2005: Chillermania
by Nick Meekhof | Apr 26, 2017 | Michigan
“Chillermania,” I whispered to myself with reverence. “The World Headquarters.” My heart leapt with excitement.
Billboards & Bumper Stickers
by Jack VA | Apr 25, 2017 | Indiana
This is where we are. The reduction of a decades-long debate with life-changing ramifications to a billboard. Or a bumper sticker. Or a sound bite.
Boersma Girls Backpack: An Experiment in Photojournalism
by Lauren (Boersma) Harris | Apr 24, 2017 | Tennessee
Gollums in caves. Rolled down Smartwools. Disposable camera flash. #SB2k13.
Loving A Man Called Ove: A Book Review
by Julia LaPlaca | Apr 23, 2017 | Placeless
Like many a literary grouch before him, Ove’s icy winter of life thaws before his final curtain.
Earn Your Dawn
by Matt Medendorp | Apr 22, 2017 | Maine
Comfort is a much needed salve, and respite for the parched and thirsty, but it’s good to remember we can also drown.
