ByJustin Cox
I bought a selfie ring light over the weekend. It’s an inexpensive thing that clips on your phone and provides better lighting for pictures. The $14.99 it set me back isn’t a hefty price, but I’m questioning the life choices that brought me to this moment. Let’s rewind. I never understood selfies. Taking pictures of…
ByJustin Cox
Did I name Pete Souza’s book, The Way I See It, about President Obama? The answer is: it’s complicated. I do have a cameo in the documentary.
ByJustin Cox
Who are you? I am Beth Ruggiero York, an author — most recently of a memoir, Flying Alone, Chinese language translator, professional photographer, and former commercial pilot. My husband and I live in Arizona, outside Phoenix. What do you write? I write to share my experiences that might help or be of interest to others. For example, my first…
ByJustin Cox
When the power first went out and didn’t immediately come back on, I knew there was a problem. After a few moments sitting in the dark, I loaded Twitter to determine what happened. Exploring tweets within a few miles of my house, the trending topic was clear: everyone was out of power. After exploring all…
ByJustin Cox
“Soy habla un poco Español,” I said in unaccented, broken Spanish. The man behind the counter just looked at me and nodded, continuing to speak in the rapid-fire language I couldn’t understand. Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time traveling through Central America. Thanks to immersion and Duolingo, I’ve picked up a good…
ByJustin Cox
I grew up watching rockets launch. In elementary school, teachers would march us outside to stare up at the sky and look for launching shuttles. At night, people would pull over and get out of their car to look for the orange glow reaching toward the heavens. Orlando is about fifty miles from Cape Canaveral….
ByJustin Cox
“You’re going to the hospital,” my wife said. She was right, I needed to go. A few years ago my chest began to tighten. I ignored this pain and went about my day while the work piled up. Five days later, the pain in my chest was too strong to ignore. After eating dinner, I…
ByJustin Cox
Years ago I ran towards a ledge and jumped. I plunged forty-five feet into the water below. Then I blacked out. We’re told to face our fears from a young age. While in the Bahamas, I took that advice to heart and attempted to conquer a fear of heights. I jumped off the cliff and…