• Cultural Rehab

    A healthy man needs to see a doctor after spending time around a group of contagious sick people because he too becomes infected. A clean individual who spends time around a dirty drug scene will eventually start participating and use the drug. If that behavior continues and as a result their quality of life goes down, the best thing they could do is seek help. Individuals in this situation need to learn how to be alright without the addicting drug. There is a type of institution for that. Its called rehab. The purpose of rehab is to remind you of who you were before you started using. Sometimes I wonder if it is difficult for people to admit addiction because they started down the path so innocently. Initially, they may…

  • Recycling Classic Style

    I am currently a sophomore in college majoring in Media and Communications and minoring in Business. I go to a unique school in Fairfield, Iowa focusing on integrating the practice of Transcendental Meditation into our daily routine. For the past few years I have lived here, I have modeled for a friend who owned an eBay vintage clothing store. A few months after I started my freshman year of college, she announced she was selling the business and would teach the ropes to whoever bought it. My friend Chamolie and I were immediately inspired by the potential of this project and ended up buying the company in October of 2010. Owning a start up business in college is a thrilling yet ambitious project to take on. Chamolie and I go…

  • Environmental Influence

    I like to think about how different environments shape our notions of self. For example, a solitary confinement cell and a mathematician’s office may look eerily similar but one denotes dignity, intelligence and creativity and the other denies these same qualities. Meanings attached to space reinforce concepts of authority, autonomy, legitimacy and social status. Years ago, I read a fascinating book that explored the meaning of the art people choose to put on their walls (Inside Culture by David Halle). You may believe your art is merely representative of your taste but a careful look will reveal far more about your character and your socio-economic background than you can begin to imagine. I think the same is true for gyms and yoga studios. There is a feeling that permeates the…

  • Lifes Path

    At 6:00 am on February 18th 2010, I walked out of my home in the mid-west. It was dark and frigid, three degrees to be exact. I nestled a few last belongings into every spare inch of my little green Corolla, blasted the heater and the mix CD I made for the road trip, and drove west into the icy tundra watching the sun rise in my rear view mirror. Three days later I arrived in sunny Los Angeles to begin the next chapter of the adventure we call life, as a Transcendental Meditation teacher with the David Lynch Foundation. This whole adventure actually started about a month before I was to graduate from college in 2010. I was in an airport in Texas when I received a phone call…