won't you celebrate with me
on my mind
This is a strange 4th of July weekend. I’m sure you’re thinking the same. I’ve never been one to do much for the holiday, other than enjoy the time off and latch on to any friends or family plans to see the fireworks show or have a barbecue. Last year, I was in Philadelphia as a bridesmaid for a good friend’s wedding. This year, I am stuck in town but I plan to get some outdoors time at a nearby park and just do all the introverted activities I love (read, write, eat, color) in nature. I also decided to take a week off which sounds weird because I can’t actually go on vacation but I have a lot of personal and creative projects I’ve been wanting time to dedicate towards, so consider this my residency-at-home. And of course, neglected chores and summer cleaning…
Did you realize that we’re already halfway through the year? I’m still processing that. How are you all doing, like really doing? Send me one or two words as a check-in. I would love to know.
Finally, I leave you with this poem by Lucille Clifton that I’ve been carrying in my heart ever since I read it.
what i’m noting
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone // Just finished this book by Lori Gottlieb, a therapist with a background in writing. Our lives are stories and Lori sees her job as helping her patients edit their stories. The book is part-memoir, part stories of a few of her patients. I also recommend listening to her interview on the First Draft podcast about the relationship between narratives and therapy.
The Girlboss Has Left the Building // “Women are still people, which means we can respond in similar ways to the incentives and privileges of power that sometimes make male bosses tyrants or harassers or wealth-hoarders. Slotting mostly white women into the power structures usually occupied by men does not de facto change workplaces, let alone the world, for the better, if the structures themselves go untouched.”
Newsrooms are now capitalizing the B in Black // The Atlantic just announced it will update its style guide to capitalize ‘Black’ as will other newsrooms like the AP and Seattle Times. Here are some of the Black reporters that made that happen.
Why Ta-Nehisi Coates is hopeful // I always love hearing his thoughts. Check out this interview he did with Vox’s Ezra Klein.
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Have a good weekend!
— Nesima