I had hoped my first bout with COVID-19 (during 2024’s “FLiRT” variants) would be my last. Unfortunately, 2025’s “Nimbus” caught up with me, landing me on the couch for many hours with nothing to do but research my adversary. It is more important than ever that we understand these increasingly transmissible COVID-19 variants, especially in an age of decreasingly reliable information online.
I’m trying to transition my wardrobe and home goods to all natural fibers, retiring items that have reached the end of their useful lives and buying responsibly to replace what I have to, when I have to. Although I probably could have managed with my uncomfortable pillow for a while longer, political events accelerated my switch to a comfortable and sustainable buckwheat hull pillow.
It’s not the end, but it is an end. The final debrief of our year together in the Climate Lab was bittersweet and carried with it intentions to pay our lessons forward into the world – collaborating with each other, if possible. For my part, I want to continue bridging gaps in knowledge and perspectives to co-create more equitable solutions to the climate crisis.
Rights are like muscles: use them or lose them. There are many reasons to feel apathetic about voting, but that’s no reason to sit it out. With that said, if you feel like voting isn’t making a difference, there are other ways to get involved too: that includes reaching out to your local, state, and federal representatives to let them know your concerns.
The 250th anniversary of the American Revolution (during unprecedented tumult in our democracy) has had many thinking about what it takes to stand up to tyranny. The rise and fall of authoritarian regimes can hinge on outside-the-box thinking and the presence of an educated populace armed with critical thinking skills and knowledge of history – and we saw a call for that this past week.
On this sixth anniversary of Radical Moderate, Pittsburgh’s signature manufacturing industry is at a crossroads. There is a path forward on which we can recognize the need for steel from an infrastructure standpoint, the need for jobs from an economic standpoint, the need for clean air from a public health standpoint, and the need for responsible decision-making to support all of those things.
Whether you love it or roll your eyes, the annual weather prediction from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania has its roots in European traditions marking the halfway point of Winter. Cleaning the house, burning candles, and observing changes in nature are all part of the holidays of Imbolc, St. Brigid’s Day, and Candlemas – a time when we remember that the dark days of winter will not last forever.
The standard Hollywood-style, three-act movie with a showdown between good and evil at the end may be fun to watch, but it isn’t realistic. Miyazaki’s use of the “kishotenketsu” narrative arc represents a more subtle style of storytelling, but it invites the audience to take more of an active role as thoughtful viewers, maybe even applying insights to our own lives in the process.
Humans are paradoxical creatures, made from a complex recipe of our own individual experiences. However, we often define ourselves based on our relationships with others in the form of binary opposition. Modern politics and social media trade on labels and increasingly polarized positions that can organize people quickly and play on strong emotions, but those labels also limit our ability to understand each other.
2024 was hard, and thinking about resolutions at a time when I’m simply trying to hold myself together seems pointless. This year I intend to focus on building strategies for resilience instead of trying to make myself a “better person.” I hope I can succeed at achieving some level of self care – and that my actions can inspire others to do the same.