Lesson
After leaving behind an academic career, some habits, perspectives, and influences continue to shape work and life.
Lesson
An unlikely call center agent works his way up the ranks—much to the bewilderment of friends and family—and uncovers a tension between control and community.
Containing Multitudes
Our identities and relationships online are made to fit into oversimplified frameworks. It’s time we lean on technology to relieve some of the social burdens it's created for us.
Lesson
Sensory triggers lead down a rabbit-hole of nostalgia, connecting memories of a beloved grandmother with the present.
Lesson
Remembered phone conversations and a reflection on a father's legacy offer a deeper sense of what it is that makes work worthwhile. The idea of the "dream job" is overturned.
Lesson
From across the web, happy news provokes a painful response. After several milestones are reached in parallel, an uncomfortably similar path gives way to a shared revelation.
On Mentoring
Mentoring relationships are complex and tenuous, but they work best when the needs they fulfill are clearly identified. And like any relationship, they require nothing less than mutual vulnerability.
Lesson
A mother leaves behind a note and a disruption to normalcy as it seemed. What follows is a long search for equilibrium, and at last, a reexamination of what normal means.
Lesson
A fragile, humbly wrapped Christmas gift from a grandmother turns out to be a source of countless stories from generations past and the catalyst for a new practice.
Lesson
For an eager fifteen-year-old, a visit to relatives in Lebanon is characterized by hospitality, discovery, and bliss, followed by a fiery taste of culture shock.
The Colors of Grief
A daughter's bright, brief life marks a stark contrast between before and after. Through the lens of grief, creative work and the world look different.
Lesson
When a spouse becomes a client, the business relationship takes a surprising turn. In its aftermath, the experience offers a lesson in humility and thoughtful communication.
Lesson
In the context of a years-long conversation, a brief portfolio review with a respected teacher has a lasting effect. Just three simple words make for a gem of insight that sustains a career.
The Space Between You and Me
Contrasted with the complexity of technology, our human needs are simple. There's much left to be done to build the web in a way that eliminates the distance between us.
Lesson
Two paths cross unknowingly in a fleeting, memorable moment. Later, the discovery of the shared memory sheds new light on a shared present and future.