My height is an aspect about my physical appearance that I just can’t hide.

I really can’t hide.

Me, trying to make a lay up…

Not in a crowd, not in the subway, or the supermarket, nope I stick out. The only place I have traveled where I felt short was in the Netherlands. Everyone there, women included, were tall! Even the friend I was with made a comment about how I had “found my tribe.” The only problem was they were all blond haired and blue eyed and spoke a language I don’t think I could ever understand. They were not my tribe.

The places I have visited where I feel most tribal, like Peru, Bolivia, Cuba or Mexico, I don’t look like them. My 6-foot, olive skin, light brown hair and eyes, just don’t allow me to fit in. The looks I got when I spoke Spanish in…

It’s a good time to reflect on the kind of Anthropocene we’re creating, and how we might make it a better one. Although we have already so changed the planet that it has entered a unique state – the Anthropocene – in which humans have become the dominant force, we are still leading very Holocene lives. What I mean by this is that our culture, civilisation, and infrastructure have not kept pace with the changing planet – we are still living twentieth-century lifestyles even though the world has moved into an entirely new era. The way we acquire our food, obtain our energy, use water, travel, relate to wildlife, plan new infrastructure, organise human populations, make global decisions… are all virtually unchanged from the twentieth century – even Victorian – times. Such a state of affairs may have been appropriate for a time of low human population, plentiful resources, a…

Born and raised in the city of Chicago, I was surrounded by a mix of ethnicities and cultures.

In my neighborhood of Rogers Park we were a delightful blend of spices. A little creole seasoning, chocolate molé, spicy salsa, green curry and other delicious sauces. Me, my classmates, my friends could have represented many of the countries within the United Nations. Countries many of us never visited or will visit. Countries whose language was lost on the boat or plane that brought us, our parents or other ancestor. Countries whose culture was stuffed into a suitcase or strapped to our backs. Cultures that tried to blend with those found in this new country.

Fifth grade

With all of this diversity surrounding me, my identity became an amalgam of cultures. I loved hanging with my girlfriends who would put french braids in my “horse hair.” Cook refried beans – with lard!