Some mornings I wake up and go for a run. Other mornings, I read or meal prep. On commuting mornings, I watch the clock as I shower and eat my cereal and pack my lunch. Each day, the routine varies slightly. But the first thing I do, after brushing my teeth and washing my face, is set a two minute timer. Five years ago, a colleague maybe three decades my senior talked about doing daily planks. It came up enough times and he spoke about it with such reverence that finally, one day, I decided...

It's not quite 10:00 am and I have been up for 5 hours. A morning run. Some miscellaneous chores. I am now working at my favorite coffee shop. I'm focused. Catching up on emails. Tasks. Deciding how I want this rare meeting-free day to unfold. My neighborhood coffee shop, usually crowded by a viral TikTok claiming it one of the best in the city, is quiet. A mom walks in with two elementary school-aged boys who take the table next to me. The younger one holds a card carrier and I steal a...

I’m walking from my office to my American Sign Language class and catching up with my mother on the phone. It’s a short walk and today I’ve given myself plenty of time to arrive early. As I’m rounding the turn for class, the group of people, two women and a man probably 5 – 10 years older than me, stop abruptly in the middle of the sidewalk, effectively blocking the path for everyone so they can dabble in a long drawn out goodbye. I’m shocked at what I perceive as a total lack of...