Thank you for voting, thank you for staying home, thank you for working. Thank you for raising your families or studying. And thank you, most of all, for giving me something to believe in.

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I’ve always liked the idea of being on the front lines. Part of it was wanting to have the most direct impact on people, sure. But another part was selfish: I wanted to be important, to know that everything I did mattered. I wanted to be the one buddy-carrying my wounded teammates, returning fire in gunfights, yelling “get to the chopper” as we run away from alien hunters. So I joined the Navy.

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Both cases are examples of anecdotal evidence — equally valid or equally invalid. So on one hand we’re being told to trust the proverbial experts and disregard personal accounts of harmless viruses. At the same time, personal stories are being used to emotionally manipulate us into following the masses and asking no questions.

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“Take my love, take my land,” says the opening song in “Firefly,” a one-season sci-fi show about an army-veteran-turned-space-pirate and his team of scoundrels. “I don’t care,” it goes on, “I’m still free, you can’t take the sky from me.” But, when I landed in San Francisco airport last week, it seemed like someone had.…

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Last year I wrote: “July 4th is Independence Day—the day a bunch of ragtag vagabonds stood up and said ‘We’re not gonna take it’ to a bunch of assholes who were taking advantage of them. It was the sputtering, blue-in-the-face, choking-on-its-own-phlegm birth of a baby country that wouldn’t take its first real steps for another century.” But what about now?

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There’s nothing quite like a poem to give you a glimpse into someone else’s personal heaven or hell. To honor Military Appreciation Month, I thought I’d share a few slices of ours.

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Dear Zoom-bombers, I’m writing to tell you that there is a world we are creating, and it’s beautiful. In this world everyone is welcome and valued and belongs. You can be welcome too, but there is one condition and it is non-negotiable: you will accept everyone else as having that same value. Period. If you need a friend, I’ll be your friend. But if you make yourself the enemy of my community, then I am your enemy too.

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One juicy strawberry in a bowl of unripe fruit shows you that you have all you need.

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A Mother's Day Dedication poem

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Nestor Walters offers college application tips for veterans, from a veteran.

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These facts are true and cannot be disputed.

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We need the hilltops to strive for, but if we focus on them, we miss the whole point of climbing in the first place.

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It was early 2018, when the North Korea nuclear scare was still something we talked about. I stared at the screen. What did I make of it? If there are nukes coming, we’re dead. But he was waiting for an answer, and if there’s one thing I learned from my 10 years in the Navy, it’s that even when you’re at the brink of a nervous breakdown, doing anything is infinitely better than doing nothing at all.

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Everyone wants things, right? Well, short of violence, the only way to get them is by asking nicely — aka negotiating. Now, if you search “negotiation tips,” you’ll come up with wisdom nuggets like, “stay calm,” “listen closely,” “set goals” and “be creative.” As true as those truisms may be, they’re also universally applicable to…

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For my 25th Grind article, I opened up to an “ask me anything.” Thanks to everyone who submitted a question. With friends asking about music, climate change, self-help and sex toys, I know I must be doing something right. Favorite Spotify playlists? I made one called “Mongo Smash Dubstep Workout,” with songs by Excision, Skrillex,…

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SATIRE: Out of over 50 questions, men at Stanford disproportionately ranked “I would be disappointed if my partner gained weight” and “I prefer politically incorrect humor,” among others, as the most important to them — and we're not joking.

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Hi, everyone, it’s me, your friendly neighborhood Navy veteran. If you’re reading this, you made it to 2020. Congratulations. Give yourself a big hug from me, and give me one if you see me walking around in my shoulder sling. Anyway, I took a poetry class last quarter and was blown away. Since that pretty…

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I’ve felt middle-aged ever since I was 15. Look, I grew up as the only American kid in a Greek public school. I was lonely, awkward and sometimes bullied. So I started Taekwondo. Because nobody messes with you when you know Taekwondo, right? Anyway. My coach said he’d buy a heavy bag for anyone who…

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SATIRE: “Really, [Residential Staff] should be paying us.” VP Brubaker-Cole concluded. “It’s free publicity and a guaranteed social circle. We’re basically paying them to host parties and be friends with people."

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I wake up to rain sizzling on my window. Bands of gray Seattle sun peek through the curtains, and hazelnut coffee wafts from the kitchen. January first. Another year and still no apocalypse. I act tough, but of course part of me is scared. Zombies. Nukes. Global Chicken Fryer? Statistically, we’re f*cked. Humanity will find…

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This morning I lie in bed, stuck with my thoughts under a warm blanket in a cold room. It’s a sunny day. My curtains are open from when I got up to sniff smoke. I stare at the ceiling. I imagine a story called “Burning Man,” where a boy trapped in a fire contemplates his…

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Step one: Get kicked out of the Navy. Step two: Figure out what to do next.

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I appreciate the sentiment and acknowledge the value of quiet contemplation. But Veterans Day, to me, is not about being silent. It's about speaking up.

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Week two is over. Crazy, isn’t it? Here’s your syllabus, have fun reading all 7,000 pages. Here’s a guide to over 300 clubs, don’t miss out on any of them. Here’s your room, that’s the lounge, there’s the dining hall. Which way is the The Quad again? Oh, I’m standing in it. Lathrop, top of…

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