Category: Information & Education

At any given time, many of us are fortunate to be able to visit our refrigerator or pantry and find an overabundance of food options to satisfy our appetites and fulfill the nutritional needs our bodies require. But did you ever ask yourself whether you appreciate food? FeedingAmerica.org reports that more than 38 million people in the United States, including 12 million children, are food insecure, which means there’s “a lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life.” For those 38 million people, they appreciate food much differently than we do. When your next meal is often shrouded in uncertainty, you appreciate food more than most. Especially those of us who can quickly and easily rummage through our overstocked refrigerators and…

The prominent headlines thus far in 2022 are troubling for so many of us. For all the progress America and its citizens have made over the last 246 years, such headlines seem to contradict such progress as we seem to be trapped in a swirling sea of conforming thoughts. It’s been 246 years since the founding of this great nation, and here we are, still confronting issues that have long plagued our society without resolve. Racial prejudice, economic imbalance, political irresponsibility, women’s inequality, homophobia, propaganda, and even restricting one’s ability to vote makes one question just how far has America really progressed? The commonality between today’s thinking and hundreds of years ago remains the same – one must adhere to conforming thoughts. Merriam-Webster defines “conforming” as “acting in accordance with prevailing…

In fourth grade, my English teacher Mrs. Dempsey was a stickler for proper grammar. Not a surprise given the fact that by the time she was my teacher, she had already welcomed 30 years of students into her classroom. While yes, she taught me a great deal about grammar and punctuation, her greatest lesson was always checking your work before turning it in. I’m sure I wasn’t the only student who was taught this invaluable lesson by one of the many outstanding teachers throughout the United States (and globally, for that matter). But lately, I’m beginning to wonder if the practice and benefits of checking your work are now unimportant to today’s youth and, sadly, today’s workers. Time and time again, I continue to see adults with high-paying salaries and…

In Mitch Albom's book The Five People You Meet in Heaven, he writes, "Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to." A lack of sacrifice can undoubtedly be attributed to the increasing divide in our country when it comes to the pandemic, especially vaccines. Throughout history, our government has imposed rules and mandates in an attempt to make our lives safer, better, longer. A few that come to mind are wearing seatbelts while driving on public roadways, having to endure security checkpoints at airports, banning smoking in public places (even outdoors), and I'm sure you can think of many, many others. At times, all these rules and mandates were met with great public resistance – viewed as inconveniences infringing…