Reconsidering the Toxicity of Loneliness A drone shot of Morella, a walled city in Spain. From a now-famous abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness, a 24-year-old vagabond named Christopher McCandless—poisoned and starving—scrawled a few of his last words in the margins of one of his favorite books. It read: “Happiness is only real when shared.” Let me begin by saying: I know how dangerous loneliness can be, especially for those of us with mental health challenges. But I also love traveling...

Jung On Judgement A dancer in Valencia, Spain I got a little digital dusting of hate last week. Just a sprinkle of disgust. Nothing major. The comment started like a tip of the cap, then turned into a verbal flip of the finger. Years ago, that would’ve derailed my day, or my entire week. Like a bad pop song, I couldn't get it out of my head. As a freshman in college, I majored in Art. I’ll never forget the “walk to the wall.” I’d hang my work and shuffle back to my seat, scanning faces for...

Writing Lessons from Soldiers of War A photo of the National Veterans Memorial and Park in Columbus It was about 25 degrees Fahrenheit, and as always, I wasn’t dressed for the occasion. I walked around the Ohio Statehouse and came across a memorial — a stone wall replication of handwritten letters, drafted from the tired hands of soldiers and sent to loved ones, mostly from WWII. Each one read like a final goodbye. In many cases, it was. How does one write when everything hangs in the...