She and I had just enough room to sit and talk. We were in the nook of the stairway of the coffee shop, the spot where the stairs go up mid-level and then switchback-like the trails I hiked back home in Oregon during the summer. A few days ago, she emailed me about some research […]

The summer following my senior year of high school, my youth pastor invited me to be a counselor at a Bible camp located along a beach in Washington. My good friend (who had done it the year before) and I would be sharing a cabin of eight rowdy six to eight-year-old boys. This would be […]

“Emotionally, how does it feel to be wrong?” asked Kathryn Schulz in a presentation I recently watched on TED Talks. Peering out into the crowd, she listened for some responses. “Dreadful.” “Embarrassing.” A thumbs-down from the girl in the background. Schulz points out that these were great answers, but they were answers to a different […]

My small private Christian high school could be described as decently conservative, maybe overwhelmingly conservative, practicing some of the you-say-a-swear-word-you’re-going-to-hell Christianity and turn-or-burn religion. Detentions were handed out for saying the word “fart” and don’t even thing about saying “c-r-a-p.” The Bible was taught as a science book, the key to all knowledge, and evolution […]

I never really understood how I broke his heart, crushed as some would say. He knew my priorities from the beginning: “roommates, friends, then whatever else.” Despite my loneliness, I knew I did not want to find my comfort in a relationship. He could always see that I was struggling, though. He could see I […]

   Part 1    Part 2 The wind had a slight chill to it, but luckily, there were few clouds in the sky, making the sun shimmer off the ocean and into my eyes, making me squint as I looked at the San Diego skyline just across the bay. His luster-filled blonde hair didn’t help too much […]

   Part 1 Inside our cafeteria, we have short tables each accompanied by two chairs sitting on both sides, “date tables” as we call them, ideal for a laid-back and highly unromantic date in the university cafeteria. That’s not why we are here though. — Sometimes, outstanding individuals catch you off-guard. I met this guy who […]

The rain splattered across my windshield as my wipers raced to remove the thousands of droplets so that I could see. Portland, Oregon tends to get a little wet. My hi-beams guided me through the old country roads; so far out they lacked streetlights. The night felt sinister. I was on my drive home from […]

It’s two o’clock in the morning, and pinholes of light pierce the dark night sky. The melodies of Arcade Fire trickle from his speakers, and the sounds of somber crashing waves climb up the cliffs and reverberate throughout his car. From time to time, we have done this. From time to time, we have late […]