By U.S. State
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Office Hours
by Jacob Schepers | Sep 2, 2015 | Placeless
Mondays & Wednesdays 3:30-4:30, and by appointment, my syllabus says. It’s as if I typed it in my blood, signing a pact with my students.
Banana Republic
by Katerina Parsons | Sep 1, 2015 | Honduras
It is a story about power and colonialization, but also a story about bananas and our insatiable appetite for them, as many as twenty-seven pounds per person per year.
Meditation
by Laura Sheppard Song | Aug 31, 2015 | Placeless
As I finished one lady said, “Me too.” The room felt warmer, somehow, after we had all spoken. Our teacher explained more about mindfulness, how it could help with stress.
My First and Last Meeting With Jack Teitsma
by Anna Gretz | Aug 30, 2015 | Grand Rapids
“Do you recognize this man?” One of the officers held out a picture of Jack. His toothy smile was unmistakable, although I noticed, even in the low-quality mug shot, an unfamiliar wildfire in his eyes. I nodded.
I Need an Escape
by Bekah (Williamson) Medendorp | Aug 28, 2015 | Grand Rapids, Michigan
It is that stillness I search for in the transcendental north. The quiet amidst the buzz of living that I haven’t discovered in the nooks and crannies of my own hum of days.
Where We Are
by Brad Zwiers | Aug 27, 2015 | Grand Rapids
A friend confessed that she could easily pour all her money into eating at GR restaurants. Another, smiling wryly, said quickly: “I couldn’t. I’m not sure I have the wardrobe for it.”
Allergic to Hard Work? Examining Tenacity in an Age of Easy Remedies
by Nick Meekhof | Aug 26, 2015 | Placeless
I don’t drink coffee, I’ve taken ibuprofen exactly six times, and I believe that a healthy dose of germs is good for your immune system.
How To Move To A New City In 7 (Not-So-Easy) Steps
by Ryan Struyk | Aug 25, 2015 | Idaho, New York, Washington, D.C.
Mumbling “what have I done” to myself in my closet-sized Queens apartment with my suitcase only half-unpacked on the floor is not exactly my proudest life moment.
Father’s Day Redux
by Lauren (Boersma) Harris | Aug 24, 2015 | Chicago, Grand Rapids
Growing up, I occasionally went with my dad to both the hospital and the mission. I saw the way in which he interacted with the patients of the hospital and the clients of the mission.
Airborne
by Michael Kelly | Aug 23, 2015 | Placeless
Never mind the over-caffeinated flight attendants, the screaming babies, the person in front of me reclining their chair into my lap—it’s really the air that gets me.
The Importance of Being Bored
by Matt Medendorp | Aug 22, 2015 | Montana
I have an operating theory that boredom proceeds greatness almost as often as the phrase “hold my beer.” I think in a culture of convenience we never challenge ourselves to wait.
A Gunnink’s Guide to Being the Best
by Gabe Gunnink | Aug 20, 2015 | Placeless
We lazed like turtles on a sagging log, eating a mystery soup with our 3-in-1 backpacking cutlery, while Kara described her mother’s habit of reminding Kara and her siblings to “remember who you represent.” “She says that to us every time we leave the house. It’s kind...
Trainwreck: A Smash Hit
by Mary Margaret Healy | Aug 19, 2015 | Placeless
If you’ve got $157 to blow in a movie theater this month and a rom-com that passes the Bechdel Test is something that catches your fancy, I’d suggest Trainwreck.
You Are Now Having Fun
by Ben DeVries | Aug 18, 2015 | Florida
Things like sex or empathy work better the less you engage with them analytically, the less you step back and watch yourself doing them.
Disaster Diaries
by Geneva Langeland | Aug 17, 2015 | California
But imagine what would happen to Los Angeles if an earthquake knocked out the electrical grid for a month. Plenty of hell can break loose in thirty desperate days.
Longing for Certain Letters
by Andrew Knot | Aug 16, 2015 | England
My colleagues included an Australian, an Austrian, an Irishman, and a Scot. Each time we walked into a pub, the room buzzed like the beginning of the world’s most-told joke.
Building a Road in Jamaica
by Cassie Westrate | Aug 15, 2015 | Jamaica
And so I have to wonder if life is less about walking a road and more about building one. I wonder if it matters less how far we’ve been and how much we’ve seen.
On Emma Watson and Self Love
by Will Montei | Aug 14, 2015 | Placeless
Sometimes I Google search Emma Watson, just to, you know, stay in touch. She’s this contemplative introvert who values privacy, thrust into a world of celebrity.
I Can See Clearly Now
by Catherine Kramer | Aug 13, 2015 | Placeless
Like I said, I worry a lot. My husband tells me that about 50 percent of the time that I feel bad about something, I shouldn’t. Our honeymoon was no exception.
I Ate the Whole World
by Abby Zwart | Aug 12, 2015 | Placeless
I went to Paris and sat on the grass in a park outside the Tuileries. I ate cold salty ham and creamy brie on a baguette that tasted like bread is supposed to taste.
Tread Softly
by Elaine Schnabel | Aug 11, 2015 | Placeless
I fill the silence with keyboard tapping, clicking on links that ask me to write a new cover letter, tweak my resume, and fill in my name, my education, my credentials.
A Toast to Hope
by Katie Van Zanen | Aug 10, 2015 | Egypt, Washington, D.C.
I thought of Cairo, of the refugee kids I met, the illiterate mothers, the desperately poor. And I stopped her to ask earnestly, “Where do you find hope?”
European
by Bart Tocci | Aug 9, 2015 | Placeless
They’re as excited about America as we are about Europe. We want to see the Alps; they want to see the Rocky Mountains. We want to take a train; they want to road trip.
Marriage Morning Blues
by Paul Menn | Aug 8, 2015 | Grand Rapids
I already am super weird about being on time, and a lot of my friends seem to view a deadline as more of a suggestion, rather than a hard fact.
Silent Summer
by Caroline (Higgins) Nyczak | Aug 7, 2015 | New York
It’s natural to want to fill your life. But in a life-long attempt to fill my soul with the “right” things, I have recently become fond of silence and stillness.
Japanude
by Josh deLacy | Aug 6, 2015 | Japan
I got naked with a bunch of old men and tried to figure out how to wash my booty without insulting anyone, and that pretty much sums up my trip to Japan.
Homesick
by Alissa Anderson | Aug 5, 2015 | Placeless
I think that is because our true home is with God, and we will never feel completely at home until we are with God. This is “heaven” to me—the ultimate homecoming.
Another Game of Uno
by Ben Rietema | Aug 4, 2015 | Placeless
By the end, I had to get out, or I was going to keel over from Uno-induced asphyxiation. I said my goodnights and stumbled off down the corridor.
A Watchman for Our Time
by Sabrina Lee | Aug 3, 2015 | Placeless
In light of the current tensions and tragedies that have ripped through our country, Go Set a Watchman is startlingly relevant and “comes to us at exactly the right moment.”
Forward and Back: 2015
by Abby Zwart | Aug 2, 2015 | Placeless
When we started the post calvin, we weren’t exactly sure how it would turn out. Now, with two years in the bag, we couldn’t be happier.
