Latest from the Blog
My life is frito pie in a bento box, and that’s okay.
If you open my nightstand drawer, you’ll find an experiment. In the drawer are cardboard dividers from IKEA and a catch-all that spans the nightstand’s width. I took everything out of the drawer, and I’m only putting back the things I use daily and weekly. I don’t know how long this experiment will last, but…
Reading, Writing, and Civics
We have a duty to read. This much is true. Reading is a deontological ethic. We are responsible for learning about the world and its people through literacy. In the same sense, reading is like voting. We have a responsibility—a duty—to be informed about candidates and issues and to cast our votes. So if reading…
Times are tough, and possibly gilded, but we’re overlooking a golden age in the United States.
Recently, my wife and I talked about all the bad in the world. It was a real gripe fest. Then, we paused and recognized that we were at home, cooking a fresh breakfast and starting our day together. We realized we could voice our opinions publicly, practice our faith openly, and spend time with friends…
Voices in the Water
You have to dig deep in seasons of aridity when rocks are exposed and clouds hang suspended Because the rain ain’t coming and the lake’s gone dry and the ocean too salty to drink hold on tight to what you have plug the leaks keep it flowing in not flowing out Listen closely as the…
Mondays are supposed to be beginnings, a poem
i wanted the futureto solve my problemsand when it arrivedso did ii didn’t like itin the futureso I slept innostalgiaso back i goto the pastto dream back timeyesteryearand here i amand with my problemsavoiding hurtsmaking harmsthe future nowcascades retreatsof back and forthambivalencehere i amor was i whenwhere was i nowam i back then?
a haiku for sleeping in
Nope I don’t think so.good news: bed is comfy &bad news: I got none.
I think I was addicted to the news.
The lunatic is in the hallThe lunatics are in my hallThe paper holds their folded faces to the floorAnd every day the paper boy brings more Pink Floyd I canceled my New York Times and San Antonio Express-News subscriptions a few weeks ago. For a newsie like me, that’s remarkable. I’ve been reading the newspaper…
The Value of Asking Questions: A Writing Tutor’s Perspective
During a tutoring session, a student asked if she could interview me for an assignment. As tutors, we have certain boundaries in place, so I asked her what the interview was for. She explained that it was for another assignment, so I agreed to the interview, seeing no major rule violations. While we are only…
Reeling in a Poolside Fantasy: The Surprising Catch of an Afternoon Dream
In my dream, I was casting a fishing line in stormy conditions, and I was chest deep in turbulent water. I casted my line, gracefully and cautiously, as to not make a splash. I felt constant tension on the line, and I finessed the line when it was in the water, but I’d get nothing…
Crafting Compelling Personal Narratives: A Simple Writing Model for Scholarship Essays, Short Stories, and More
A frequent writing challenge for new and established writers is the personal narrative. But we often write and tell stories about ourselves without thinking twice about them. Take the following list, for instance: It can be hard to write about ourselves, but this task can be made simple if we frame our stories with one…
Goodbye, New York Times, San Antonio Express-News
The capital of the United States is Washington, D.C., but the capital of America is New York City, wrote the author Henry James. This political and cultural distinction is present in the New York Times, a phenomenal newspaper that I have subscribed to for the past few years. When I read the NYT, I get…
First thing that came to mind.
Jot down the first thing that comes to your mind. I’ve been married for 41 days.
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