Nostalgia Content
We can be forgiven, perhaps, for imagining the past as it is recorded to be both graspable and comprehensive.
Katie is a doctoral student in English and education at the University of Michigan. She loves the New York Times crossword puzzle, advice columns, oceans, and dogs of all kinds.
Join Something; Don’t Apologize
We need one another in order to be brave.
Thank You, Neland Avenue
I am grateful to be a daughter of Neland Avenue Christian Reformed Church because it matters still, to see so many people who care about the things that so deeply trouble me in the world and in the church.
You Will Get Pregnant and Die
The older I get, the more I watch women around me trying desperately to get pregnant, after being told for years that “it only takes one time,” that it would ruin you.
Holy Saturday
I thought, as I often do these days, about how deeply weird the whole thing is.
Beads and Ashes
We drove past house after house set high on pillars to protect from future hurricane storm surges.
Coming Up Metaphors
You’ll see where this is going. The whole plants-as-metaphor thing is tired, I know, but it’s potent.
Protective Procrastinating
Perhaps I and myself might solve this problem together in a more productive way if we collaborate.
The Moral Value of Knowledge
Does it do anything but make me small and sad?
Acknowledgments
I like imagining an entire life from a list of names, suggesting weeks and weeks of research team meetings and emails and happy hours.
On Earth as It Is & Was
We begin the same way.
What Not to Wear
Everything I tried on made me look like either a couch or a backup dancer.
Running Is Always a Metaphor
I am managing internal and external chaos by running until I’m really, really tired.
Dividing Lines
It must explain everything or it explains nothing.
Dorothy and Me
Was she ever deterred?
The Not-So-Great Outdoorswoman
I dislike going down hills (it’s too fast) and up them (it’s too hard), and also, biking makes my butt hurt.
What’s At Stake
I wish I could care less—it feels like a luxury.
5 Mantras and 2 Gifs for Managing Perfectionism
You are not helping by pretending you can do it if you can’t, Katie.
Do We Change?
“That’s who you’ve always been. You were always into that stuff.”
Leave Women Alone: Some Opinions on Pregnancy
If you’re really interested in other people having babies, you could channel your energies into advocating for affordable childcare.
Today is Christmas, and We Are Tired
I don’t have Christmas cheer to offer.
Fantastical, Flammable Gas
Like everything magical, though, the airship project was riddled with realities.
The Peace of Christ Be with Me
But writing about my anger also moved me to remember that there are no clean lines to be drawn here between villains and heroes.
Does It Matter?
Does it matter that this particular person voting for a corrupt, anti-democratic, avowedly racist and misogynist leader is also a “prayer warrior” and a “champion of the faith”?
I Think About This Once a Week
On good days, I think about John and that chalkboard and the dog under the lectern and I remember the joy of learning new things and the inexhaustible opportunities the world presents for just that.
There Is No Safety
The very hard thing I am learning right now—about race, and about myself—is that the rules I have been living by are not very good ones.
Ten Astonishing Books by Black Writers
This is not an anti-racist reading list, per se.
Curiosity and Moral Courage, or, a Commencement Address for Uncertain Times
Moral courage and curiosity means listening to yourself: where did this idea come from? Why am I moved to defend it?
My Best Friend Lives in New York
But I will say that—for me—being confined to my home has sometimes felt liberating in a small and quiet way.
“Trying Experience,” 6 Letters –
It’s tempting, as the writer, to make a trite connection here to challenges I have previously risen to (a potentially boring speech about crossword puzzles).
