A counselor’s thoughts about what oversharing, overwhelm and pretending to be happy can create on stage There’s been something different, something missing in his eyes. Whether it was on Jimmy Fallon or on his Nat-Geo episodic documentary, I’ve been picking up on a different vibe from Will Smith. His interactions…

2022 is all about your “reboot-the-dude” The wait is over! It’s time to breach the entrance to the manliest place on earth: Dude-Con, where stereotypes are not only embraced but galvanized to withstand the impositions of evolution. After two years of suffering, your favorite male-only event got some new treads…

Let’s all read aloud in an English accent to afford proper pomp and respect — Dear Birthday, I hope this letter finds you well and your yearly visits are keeping you busy. The time and effort you put in to up-ticking everyone’s digits and simultaneous disgust are legend. Your forced contemplation of life’s journey has such a sweet, yet sickening vibe for anyone past the…

The complexities of a mental health crisis that crossed the work life — personal life threshold and changed the way I think about work Lipstick drags across a wall scrawling letter by letter…H-E-L-P, I-S, O-N, I-T-S, W-A-Y. This hotel room likely never experienced such an event. The three women cowering…

Managing the urge to get super-cali-fragilistic-expiali-nauseous Shwish-thud, shwish-thud, shwish-thud. Someone’s dropping a beat. My body joins the rhythm in my own personal parade. I’m excited. I’m nervous. I’m walking toward the gates of Disneyland with an enthusiastic herd of fun-seekers. In a wave of uh-oh, I realize the sound is…

Hey mom, thanks for softening the edges of awfulness It didn’t help that they were dear friends who loved to laugh. Ruth had one of those laughs that pulls you in even if you don’t know why she’s laughing. However, this situation wasn’t anything to be laughing about, but they…

Dishing on the give-and-take of being an awesome follow partner — I’m suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to juggle and sing, “da-da-da-da-da-tah, du-da-tah-da-ta-da-tah,” (feel free to sing it out). This compulsion happens when I market myself. It’s a manifestation of bubbling awkwardness that screams, “Hey look at me! I swear I won’t bore you! Please like me.” What are these recent…

A veteran career counselor on how to overcome two common anxieties about job interviews — It was like the white noise of a fan blowing, or the lulling hum before the airplane takes off. My level of comfort with silence was being tested, and then some. I looked at her. She looked at me. Was she going to answer my question? …

Money and power bring predictable “put your thing in that” behaviors By a show of hands, am I the only one picking up on the metaphor that Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos are using their money to extend the reach of their penises beyond the stratosphere? …