(This article also appeared at The Express) When I closed up the cafe the afternoon of July 12, even the deadbolt on the front door felt heavy. I had slogged through my shift, trying to keep my head high for
(Originally written on September 2, 2014) This month is the beginning of a very full life for me; tomorrow, I start working on my Master’s degree. On top of working two jobs, full time graduate school is daunting. For weeks,
I decided to pursue journalism after spending 18 months working toward a position with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 2018, when investigations targeting Russian interference in the 2016 election had led to heightened animosity toward federal law enforcement agencies
Since around 2008, Alvaro Rodríguez has been frequenting coffee shops in the city he eventually decided to call home. He said that there is a communal aspect that he really enjoys about getting his morning latte—especially since he usually runs
(This article also appeared at The Express) As a child, Andrea Lunetta would spend a week every summer with her aunt in San Ramon, California, where they would do artistic things like make jewelry together. When she recalled these times,
My work is a 15-minute walk from the steps of the Capitol in Sacramento, California, and when I went to work as an essential employee April 20, I didn’t expect for the Reopen California protests happening that day to make
Around our first wedding anniversary, my wife and I decided that we wanted a dog. After successfully a houseplant alive for most of that year, we joked that a puppy would be the next step in the natural progression of
(This article also appeared at The Express) “If you ever decide to start smoking weed, let me know,” my mom beamed. I was sitting on a barstool on one side of the kitchen counter while my mom sat across from