One of you reminded me of something critical I left out of last week’s newsletter: The source of our shoulds. “Comparison is the thief of joy,” you wrote, “it’s cliche but true.” We don’t just tell ourselves to do things out of thin air – we look at others and decide we should be doing [...]
emmett.freedman
Things We “Should” Do
Like any hobby, reading takes up space in my life. I talk about books I’ve enjoyed with friends and we swap copies once we’re done. I catalogue my reading list on this website and summarize my favorites each year. I also attract compliments from non-readers. “I wish I could read like you,” they’ll say, or [...]
Learning From Ghosts
When I studied abroad in Buenos Aires, I did so as an American. My only friends were other Americans in my program. I spoke English with everyone but my host parents. I visited just one or two museums, either with family or with a class. I went to the same handful of bars and nightclubs [...]
Tiny Nuggets of Gold
We’re a month into the year and I have to be honest: I feel like I’m hitting my stride with this newsletter. I’ve got no shortage of material, the words are flowing easily and I enjoy reading the end product. I’m sure I’ll feel differently a month from now, but not since I started this [...]
Warning: Labels
Anne and I got a puppy last Saturday named Toby. He’s got big, floppy ears, an adorable yawn and the softest tummy imaginable. He’s also a terror to leave alone in his crate, stubbornly resistant to peeing outside and showing a clear preference for Mom over Dad. As part of the new puppy package, I [...]
Faith Before Progress
Admiral James Stockdale learned a valuable lesson during the seven years he spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam: “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” You’re [...]
A Sliver of Ugliness
2,500 Americans broke into the Capitol building on January 6th last year. 1 in 130,000. To put that in perspective, 1 in 17,000 Americans murdered someone in 2021, and 1 in 600 people slept on the street on any given night. All of which is to say, we pick and choose the stories we tell [...]
Hit the Reset Button
At the end of 2018, I sat down with pen and paper and wrote a list of my accomplishments from the year. I separated them into Personal, Career, Athletics and Volunteering, for no better reason than those were the categories I thought up on the spot. I spent fifteen minutes or so writing down all [...]
2021 Reflection & 2022 Goals
A look back on the year and my goals for the next one.
My Favorite Books of 2021
The best things I read all year.