The first leg of what would become a life of many wonderful journeys, both mentally and physically, started here. Right where you are now: The University of Texas at Austin.
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What’s it like to be a refugee? What exactly is a refugee? What are the struggles associated with immigrating to the United States, and what does it take to help the people who do so to thrive?
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There is a special place in my heart for Love Field—and not only because of its name. I love Love Field because it was my point of departure from which I set off to see the rest of this wide world.
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In a normal year, as things wind down, I like to think back on the happenings of the last 12 months and then pack them up and put them away. Well, not this year.
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Most think contemplation of their garden should be done only once it’s been tended, but I say that even more valuable contemplation can be had when the garden is in its most disordered state.
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If we really do believe that we must be the change we seek in the world, we must also understand what change in the world is needed. I am pretty sure it's no longer "pocket change."
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We live in the most short-termed of times. Our societies, tastes, and economies are all built not to last, but to be disposed of and replaced… Nothing lasts forever.
Here’s where the need for long vision comes in.
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Consider the humility of not knowing where you are going, but continuing anyway. This is true wayfinding. To find the way, when you are not sure of the way. Why do we do this? What is in our nature that we would naturally proceed, against our good sense and bad odds?
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It’s a trick, I admit. You are tricking yourself into anticipation and gratitude for things large and small, for simply having life, love, and comfort in whatever form it might take over the next few months.
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It’s the most non-modern of ways to prepare. It requires sitting quietly and letting "it" happen. Some of the catalysts and causes are not exactly predicable or explainable. Yet, for the most part, it comes out okay.
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It does almost no good to keep looking at only global statistics, or even national stats… The object of the game is to ferret out what works where, and try to avoid the places that turn out to be quicksand.
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America loves a capitalist reckoning the way the NFL loves Colin Kaepernick. But we are having one anyway.
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In 2019, I published 12 new original essays here on String Theory, and each could be seen as ribbons tied to the branches of the tree of my year. There they flutter still, reminding me to return to the themes which inspired me to write each.
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Perhaps by reaching out to their community with a small, but radical act of beautiful kindness, the keepers of this island of civility are slaying some dragon of their own making.
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How convenient to point the finger of guilt at everyone else. But as my uncle used to tell me, every time you point your finger at someone, three of your other fingers are pointing back at you.
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I was once served a piña colada by the bartender at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, who claimed that he invented the drink. Of course I did not believe him at the time. I thought it was a line. Turns out to be true.
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Your arrival signpost for your own personal Fin del Mundo is very distinct—it is when you feel that there is no way forward, and no way back.
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“This is about holding on, letting go, and most of all, rising above.“
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While a mitzvah can be something really large and life changing, one could think of mitzvahs more as little deeds, done on a regular basis, as a matter of habit. Mitzvahs are not the meal—rather they are the chips you dip into the salsa of life.
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Leadership takes on many forms. The ties that bind teams are not just the skills of the players, the playbook, the logo and mascot, or even the fans."
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