Instead of a Public Service Announcement (PSA), I have a Personal Service Announcement. In my January 29, 2021 post EXTEND, I talk about how I have been biohacking since 2018. And I live a life steeped in community service, beginning as a Brownie in the Girl Scouts, 40 years ago. Since I celebrate my 50th […]

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Hip, hip, hooray! Today is the last day of school!!! We celebrated yesterday by having a water balloon fight tempered with ice cream and popsicles. We survived and thrived together during a challenging year of virtual learning. We provided social and emotional support to each other. I am proud of their resilience! CCSR has been […]

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Before I prepared to launch the pilot of Community Corps for South Riding (CCSR), I had completed a personal project: sort and organize all of my loose photos into chronological order. While sifting through my memories, I came across a bag full of keepsakes from my AmeriCorps *VISTA service. One of the items was a […]

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I have discovered the word that expresses moments of how I have been feeling lately. Adam Grant, an occupational psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, recently wrote an article in the New York Times.  The timing of its publication could not have been more perfect for contributing to my wellness. I have known that I […]

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I am in awe of death. I have had a healthy, curious relationship with dying since my memory of a spiritual experience as a toddler. There is not a day that has gone by that I can remember NOT thinking about death and how it informs my life. I mean that declaration with the most […]

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I finally discovered the ‘art ‘ of binge watching. I am a former television addict. When I was in college, I remember video recording six soap operas throughout the week in anticipation of catching up with the plots over the weekend. I remember what it meant to wait for and watch your favorite prime time […]

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I am perpetually in AWE (Ali Watches Exuberantly) of the Aurora Borealis. Every night before I go to sleep, I pause. I do not practice additional breathing exercises to intertwine with my mind. I do not stretch my muscles to relax while lying in bed. Instead, I wait in eager anticipation of the buffering lull […]

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I am in awe of the book Humankind: A Hopeful History. Rutger Bregman has written a literary jewel, a prism of optimistic perspectives refracting light on human nature through the optics of history, psychology, sociology, and philosophy. I am incredibly grateful to live at a time when this historian collates stories that intersect our past […]

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What happens as your past and present converges when you discover your other yearbooks after eons of time? While having dug in a deep plastic container for my senior yearbook, I also discovered more of these emotionally-triggering chronicles that capture among the best and worst experiences of our formative years. I scooped the bound heavy […]

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What happens as your past and present converges when you discover your senior yearbook after eons of time? One of my all-time favorite teachers, Mr. Taylor, died in October. He was a southern gentleman, a retired Army Colonel, a shepherd in education, and a servant in Christ. I have never forgotten the prophetic words he […]

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