By Roxanne A. Donovan March 20th marked the start of spring – a dynamic period of rebirth after the doldrums of winter. This sense of renewal is probably why commitment to personal change comes easier this month (think spring cleaning). For me, spring’s beginning provides the perfect opportunity to recommit to my New Year’s resolution. Like many, there is usually slippage or complete abandonment by the time the calendar turns to March. This year’s resolution…
By Yuki Imoto and Tomoko Tokunaga When we met in Tokyo in 2013, I (Tomoko) had just returned from the US as a postdoc, and I (Yuki) had started a faculty post in Japan. We connected through our common interests and shared backgrounds. We have been writing collaboratively since then. It was rare to find a friend who shared similar experiences of crisscrossing linguistic, cultural, and geographic borders. Our disciplinary backgrounds included anthropology, sociology, and…
By M’Balia Thomas Aches and pains are the body’s way of getting our attention. My body has been trying to get my attention for the past five years. I have had a year-long recurring cough, unexplained aches in my joints, wonky blood pressure, and a persistent sense of dis-ease. On more than one occasion, I have spent the night in the ER with symptoms I was sure were signs of a heart attack, but ultimately were…
By Kimine Mayuzumi After moving to North America over a decade ago, I realized being busy had some kind of badge for many people to be proud of. During my graduate studies, I heard a lot of phrases like “I am busy with this or that,” and “I am too busy right now to do anything else.” People were stressed. But I also sensed that the busier they were, the more important and worthy they…
By Kimine Mayuzumi Dr. Kayt Sunwood is a contingent teaching faculty member at University of Alaska after retiring from staff positions in higher education in 2017. She participated in one of the services that Being Lazy and Slowing Down offers, Slowing Down Circle (SDC), last year by driving for an hour to attain a decent internet connection and attend every single online meeting early in the morning while it was still dark and cold outside…
