Sometimes we hear people say that we are our own worst enemies, and most of the time I think this is true. No one is “praying on your downfall” and your worst competition is your procrastination, your pride, just nurturing negative behavior in general. The movie, “Us,” created and directed by the brilliant Jordan Peele, explores these themes as he usually does, metaphorically.
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The goal of many transgender people in transitioning is to “pass.” That is, to have people, especially strangers, associate them with their true gender without question. Yet in a dichotomous society with a foundation of blue and pink, boys and girls, men and women (which gives rise to widespread transphobia in the first place), there is no room for people like me. There is a clear boundary, a crevasse that splits right down the middle of my forehead. “Are you a man or a woman?” No! Should I be?
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The Old Auburn Cemetery is exactly what it sounds like; tucked between bustling streets and across from the train station, it houses hundred-year-old graves and tall, shadowing trees. I walk along the paths, thinking to myself that this look is what might attract random Auburn teenagers with nothing else to do to the spot. At least, it did for my friend and I, when we were in high school. I remember the summer air rustling leaves as we imagined ghosts behind our backs. Now, I’m making a return visit alone on a rainy day to investigate the grave of a person who seemed almost fictional. An engraving in the stone reads, “Fatally wounded in a gun duel with the law, July 11, 1859.” These words opened up to me the story of Rattlesnake Dick.
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Every morning, Haruka Ogawa would wake up to the sight of string lights above her dorm room bed, an experience so uniquely American for her. As she stepped out into the cold air to get ready for her day, her eyes would catch the memories of her old life hanging on the walls — a group photograph of her dance team, or a snapshot of her graduation ceremony from her high school back in Japan.
Just a few months prior, Ogawa was living in a suburban city outside of Tokyo, visiting the bustling metropolis each weekend with her friends. She was used to the colors, the sights, and the sounds of the place she grew up. Now she was walking through a campus of unfamiliar trees and faces, in a country where everyone spoke an unfamiliar tongue.
Catch Montreal Bobbit’s latest episode of The Millennial Mindset, your podcast for information and inspiration. This week’s episode features a heartwarming interview from Bobbit’s beloved aunt Charlotte, talking about energy and how it has the power to change your life for the better. More episodes of the Millennial Mindset can be streamed on Apple Podcasts.
The broad, stone steps of the Sacramento State Capitol building were crowded with young people hoisting homemade signs into the air. The air rang with the sounds of protest: “No more coal! No more oil! Keep your carbon in the soil!” More than 200 voices chanted in unison, led by the abrasive, static crackle of a megaphone. A group of elementary aged children displayed a hand-painted banner that read “Kids Climate Strike” decorated with paint handprints. Another sign held by a teenage girl read “This planet is getting hotter than my imaginary boyfriend!”
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