Placemaking

Placemaking

I woke up in my new Knoxville home, rolling off the tattered mattress pad serving as my temporary bed onto the laminate wood floor, covered in a layer of dust. What was this barren room? I had left my comfortable, cozy, love-filled Michigan home to move South and...
Midsummer Night’s Dream

Midsummer Night’s Dream

For a long, significant portion of my childhood, I had no idea what a root beer float was. I spent many humid summer nights in Philadelphia’s rural surroundings, my brother and I running about the grounds of an old farmhouse, with Grandma at the helm. She would...
Graciousness and Commitment

Graciousness and Commitment

The first time I met Madison Massara she was a 16-year-old, spinning around effortlessly in a humid, crowded ballet class at Grand Rapids Ballet School. I watched her fouetté at the end of class, rotating multiple times with the endurance and poise of a prima...