A Jumble of Goodbyes
I’m leaving a familiar harbor for an unfamiliar sea.
East Coast Ice Cream Zagat
I want to know a place like L.M. Montgomery knows Prince Edward Island.
Justice for Rory Gilmore
The procession of gold stars, jolly ranchers, and honor roll ceremonies train their brain towards continuously following the rewards.
Cicada Song
If I want to value the stories of others, I should value my own as well.
That Daggum Green Light
I remember completing a weeks-long project with my friend Mackenzie that involved green Christmas lights shoved through a tri-fold display board.
Yellow Porch Light Quality
Wow, I once had a boyfriend who was in a band.
Unfair Farewell
You are talking to a student about the flowers he bought for a girl, and the next day he is expelled.
Our Monumental Mothers
What is it about the Midwest that makes us want to erect huge statues to very young and famous teen mothers?
Girlhood
I have lived most of my life embarrassed by the culture of being a girl.
“Laramie Sparkles, Doesn’t It”
This isn’t a sparkly post.
To All My Students, Past or Present
I bought this skirt on Etsy. I buy all of my skirts on Etsy.
The Enduring Value of The Babysitters Club
Excuse me while I go buy a fedora.
A New Brand of Professional Development
It just really sucks to be in middle school.
Marmalade Feminism
Somewhere along the way, I have become a jam-making fiend.
The Virtue of Grumpiness
Tucked into a sea of love and joy is an entire character dedicated to grumpiness.
A Definitive List of Why Mr. Beaver is the Best
Finally, a man who understands you.
The Back of the Stationery Store
I spend eons meticulously rotating the rack and considering which postcard could be catered to each of my friends.
The Juiceman Legacy
I awaited the next instruction; it never came.
The Children’s Autonomy Paradox
It asks the question: why must beautiful and capable children be constrained by the law of incompetent guardians?
Why Do We Keep Watching Hallmark Movies?
Wouldn’t it be much easier to suffer amnesia and be nursed back to health by a rugged lumberjack?
The Christian Dialect
Since that dinner took place in West Michigan, nobody batted an eye at my dramatic pronouncement.
Communal Tooth-Brushing
No performance. No personal space.
A Story That Shaped My Four-Year-Old Brain
According to Boersma family lore, I had memorized the words to it before I even knew how to read.
Hey Susannah, You Don’t Need to Carry Everyone’s Backpacks
Well okay, Stephen Sondheim, just go ahead and call me right out.
Ode to Subway
Subway is a communion of scattered purposes.
The Cost of Purity Rhetoric
My obsession with that unattainable purity led me to fear the only vessel I was given to experience this world.
Resounding Grief
The best part of West Virginia is my grandparents and without fail they could be found in their driveway, waving goodbye when we left.
A Teacher’s Farewell
I never thought I would need to make an explicit rule banning headlocks, but you guys proved me wrong.
The Politics of Coaching Youth Sports
And so I watched the first game, where we lost spectacularly with a score of 10-0.
Don’t Feed Your Enemies to Plants: A Manifesto
Why is it that so much of culture and media supports the idea that success necessitates destruction?
