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Forgoing My Undying Shame
by Ben Rietema | Dec 4, 2015 | Placeless
I have a “thing” about hair, and it may to seem strange to you. But let’s be honest, you have your things too.
An Advent Sucking-Stone
by Sabrina Lee | Dec 3, 2015 | Placeless
My pastor slipped up this past Sunday, saying “Lent” instead of “Advent,” as she sent us into this new season. How appropriate, actually, for these two periods of waiting mirror each other: repetition with a difference.
Life Hacks and Road Trips
by Jacob Schepers | Dec 2, 2015 | Grand Rapids, Indiana, Michigan
6. Bribes are more than okay. I’ve trained my kids to think that tic-tacs are the holiest of grails in terms of possible rewards for good behavior.
Where the Refugees Land
by Katerina Parsons | Dec 1, 2015 | Placeless
I coach him through the formalities of a job interview. “Why should I hire you?” I feed him. “I am a good worker,” he sounds out. He is nervous. He rubs his neck. I can’t take my eyes away. I can’t stop thinking someone tried to kill you.
Growing Up
by Julia Hawkins | Nov 30, 2015 | Placeless
I literally wrapped my arms around my fridge the other week after it made a sound I would describe as a “death rattle” and begged it to hold on until I could either save up enough money to fix it, or find a full-time job.
Of Lice and Men
by Bekah (Williamson) Medendorp | Nov 28, 2015 | Placeless
I am not thankful for lice. And I never will be. But I am thankful for men. For a certain man in particular. You will see why.
Ancestry
by Brad Zwiers | Nov 27, 2015 | Grand Rapids
This year’s paprikash dinner was Shakespearean—brutal in its unintentional comedy and not without its tragedy.
Thanksgiving at the Center of the World
by Nick Meekhof | Nov 26, 2015 | Ghana, Placeless
It was a most unusual Thanksgiving. En route to the Cape, we received rock-climbing advice from a naked, seventy-year-old fisherman, who helped us navigate the ragged crags leading up to the point.
Life on the Day Before Thanksgiving
by Ryan Struyk | Nov 25, 2015 | Placeless
But gratitude isn’t meant to be reserved for one day—and certainly not a panic-filled moment after Thanksgiving dinner. Because the day before Thanksgiving is where we spend our lives. Let’s live today with tomorrow in mind.
Spoiler Alert: RE Santa and Absolute Truth
by Lauren (Boersma) Harris | Nov 24, 2015 | Placeless
This was a truly significant moment in my life, and there is a reason that I still remember Chris’s grinning, red-rouged cheeks and Haley’s big, brown dismayed eyes beneath her adorable nineties bob. It was the first moment in my life where the right thing to do was also wrong.
The First on the Fifth
by Michael Kelly | Nov 23, 2015 | Placeless
“You could argue that,” my professor responded, “but where’s the line between saying something hateful, and saying something offensive? I think that line exists, but you have to define it.”
Weep for the World
by Matt Medendorp | Nov 22, 2015 | Placeless
Weep for the world. Weep for the broken hearted, the half hearted, the heartless and the two hearted murderers. Weep for liberty. Weep for fraternity. Weep for the encyclopedia of troubled souls.
Loosening My Religion
by Gabe Gunnink | Nov 20, 2015 | Placeless
As I opened my mouth, I realized I was about to put words to a trend I’d been observing in my faith life but that until this point had dozed cozily in my subconscious: “I don’t care as much as I used to, and I’m kind of fine with it.”
Happy Birthday, Mom
by Mary Margaret Healy | Nov 19, 2015 | Placeless
Now that I’m reasonably adult-ish, I’m not so hard on my mother. She still cries at all movies, and she still sings only harmonies, but I tend to stay in the room for these things now.
Why I’m Quitting Grad School and Majoring in NaNoWriMo
by Ben DeVries | Nov 18, 2015 | Placeless
On bad days, I get worried not when the writing dries up but when it comes too easily, when it tumbles out onto the keyboard with a clatter like a hailstorm. Obviously, in those moments, something went wrong.
A2, Part 2
by Geneva Langeland | Nov 17, 2015 | Ann Arbor
But this town won’t be mine for much longer. Rent payments have nearly wiped out my savings, so in about a month, I’ll be moving into my aunt and uncle’s farmhouse forty-five minutes away.
The Perfect Dinner
by Andrew Knot | Nov 16, 2015 | Vienna
From the empire’s old favorites—Tafelspitz and Kaiserschmarrn—to the Würstlstand, present on every street corner, the sausage-vending culinary bastion of the drinking and working classes, the way to the Austrian identity goes through the taste buds and down into a satisfied, high-caloric stomach.
Against the Wind
by Cassie Westrate | Nov 15, 2015 | Michigan
So I scoop the Cherry Pineapple Parfait, listen to Katy Perry, and wonder if any of my effort will ever make any difference or if I’ll always be as powerless and obsolete as a plastic bag drifting through the wind.
Kitchen Itch
by Catherine Kramer | Nov 13, 2015 | Placeless
So how did we get here? The short answer: a bevy of resources and good old-fashioned guilt. We got married, and suddenly there was this room of pots and pans and spatulas and measuring cups and blenders and spice racks.
The Company You Keep
by Abby Zwart | Nov 12, 2015 | Placeless
And that’s where it all started. Talking to myself, that is. And if you know me well, you might be surprised by this revelation. That’s because I’m sneaky about it.
How to Make Friends
by Elaine Schnabel | Nov 11, 2015 | Placeless
It turns out that if friendship is based on common ground, it is literal ground shared that makes more of a difference than shared ideas. Friendship begins and ends with shared space.
Vital Signs
by Katie Van Zanen | Nov 10, 2015 | Massachusetts
I don’t know what it means to live a good life, or how I’m measuring it. I didn’t donate blood out of purely altruistic motivations—I’m a sucker for free snacks and affirmation. I have had a good life, an exciting life, and insofar as it depends on me, I’d like to keep that up. So something is enough for today.
Head of the Charles
by Bart Tocci | Nov 9, 2015 | Massachusetts
For someone unfamiliar with competitive rowing, it looks like people rowing a boat down a river. For someone familiar with competitive rowing, I have to assume it also looks like people rowing a boat down a river.
Star Wars: The Disappointment Begins
by Paul Menn | Nov 8, 2015 | Placeless
I sincerely hope I am wrong. I hope this movie is amazing and blows my mind. But anything less than “mind-blowingly fantastic” just isn’t going to cut it for me.
Give
by Caroline (Higgins) Nyczak | Nov 7, 2015 | Placeless
The number one thing I’ve learned is we have to keep giving. Give a freshly sharpened pencil to the same student every damn day. Give another sheet of paper if it means the record and preservation of the original thought of a child.
PunchTrump Love
by Josh deLacy | Nov 6, 2015 | Placeless, Washington, D.C.
I don’t know about Saudi Arabia. I’m not rich, either. I don’t lead an empire. I don’t have Kurt Cobain’s talent or Robin Williams’ fame or Donald Trump’s confidence. I’m just another guy. Another unexceptional guy. Every morning I shower with second-guesses. I brush my teeth with self-doubt. Half of my personality comes from insecurity. Maybe more. I’m not sure.
You Can Take the Girl Out of the Midwest, But…
by Alissa Anderson | Nov 5, 2015 | New York
Somehow, though, moving to a place like NYC made me realize, perhaps for the first time, just how much there is to love about Middle America.
Landlubber
by Ben Rietema | Nov 4, 2015 | New Zealand
Another wave of nausea wrenches my stomach, and I cling to the horizon with my eyes, willing the North Island to come closer. I nervously check the lower deck to see if any hapless soul is below should I release my lunch.
The Real Thing
by Sabrina Lee | Nov 3, 2015 | Illinois
The Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, however, is different. There’s a ritual to entering this cold, dry, protected space. Before going in, you have to lock up your backpack, purse, coat, pens, snacks, water bottle, binders, and folders.
Kindergarten Roundup
by Jacob Schepers | Nov 2, 2015 | Placeless
“Daddy, when you and Mommy go to heaven, who will be our new Mommy and Daddy?” Just another dinner conversation. I stop mid-bite and look up to see him watching me curiously.
