Two Good Things

Working in nonprofits and eating dinner

what we’re biting

bella: The Brotherhood Sister Sol (BroSis) is a youth development organization in West Harlem that creates space for Black and Latinx youth to learn, grow, and fight for a better future—for themselves and their communities. BroSis is a close partner of my nonprofit, and I spent all of last week there, teaching teenagers why they shouldn’t be meeting strangers in Discord channels.

exit ticket answer from one of my lovely middle schoolers

As many of you know (because I never shut up about it), this summer has been interesting. I’ve learned some valuable life lessons—don’t wear long jeans on Citi Bikes, don’t trust men who whiten their own teeth once a week, and perhaps what I’m doing right now isn’t my long-term calling. Building and implementing a curriculum as a team of one (hi) is one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done. Every day I teeter between feelings of fulfillment and failure. It’s exhausting—psychically and emotionally—and a big part of me is ready to move on.

But if there’s been one bright spot through all of this, it’s been my time at BroSis.

Honestly, what I find so special is that everyone—especially the staff—just looks happy to be there. Hugs, smiles, “how’s your day going?”—people take the minute to be kind and they all mean it. By the end of the week, I was hugging everyone on staff before I left the building. Being in their presence made me weirdly emotional. It’s no coincidence they’re one of the only education orgs with “love” in their mission statement. Their story, their impact—it’s all incredibly moving, and I’m honestly in awe.

this week!

Also, their students are just the cutest. I spent the first half of the week with a group of middle schoolers who were warm, attentive, and hilarious. When they begged me not to leave, I almost cried. Again.

😭 <3

So this week, I’m biting on BroSis—how they build community, how they nurture young people, and how I can stay in their orbit. Maybe someday I’ll run the NYC marathon to support them (but first I need to finish my HYROX with Julia).

grey: Even if I’m not “winning” in every part of my life, I feel sure that I’ve won friendship. This week was overflowing with long dinners and walks and conversation. There’s something about the way catching up with good friends can fill me up that is so different than romantic and familial love. It’s in the little things – even in the way a restaurant is first chosen – that make me feel cocooned inside of my relationships.