...that if being a prostitute is just ‘sex work’ then why is it awkward if your manager at the local Starbucks offers you a raise for a blow job? It’s just work, right? “I’ll have a Chai Latte and a rim job. I’ll keep the tip.”

...that the perfect fairy tale that exemplifies the cryptocurrency movement is ‘Jack and Beanstalk.’ “Hey. Gimme that valuable animal you own and I’ll give you some magic beans.”

...that we are all trapeze artists swinging between “this is incredible” and “what fresh hell is this?” Maturity and wisdom is embracing ambiguity as your co-pilot instead of trying to stuff it in the trunk.

...that kindness is only virtuous when it’s inconvenient. Anyone can be nice when the cameras are on and the tip jar is full. Try being kind when it costs you something — your time, your pride, your precious moral high ground. That’s character. The rest is theater.I Believe…

...that freedom makes people nervous. It upends structure, pokes at authority, and refuses to follow the goddamn script. It’s the wrench in the gears, the chaos in the order, the idea that you might not need permission to exist exactly as you are.

...that without a strong ethical boundary dictating your life decisions, the invitation to slippery slopes and relinquishing autonomy is a Hallmark card designed to disappear into the mud.

...that, as I continue down the path of time, it is sleep that seems most important and elusive.

...that both hope and fear are just emotional hallucinations projected on a reality that doesn’t care. The future is a rabid dog. It doesn’t love you. It doesn’t hate you. It just bites.

...that religating the past is a Sisyphean task that distracts from the imperative of progress.

...that the trend to create justification back stories for villainous characters is directly connected to our need to rationalize our own shitty behavior.

...that empathy is a limited and local resource. Expanding one’s desire to empathize with an increasing number of people spreads it thin like too little butter on too much bread.

...that anxiety and grit are like two characters in a dark comedy—each one flawed, but when they work together, they can create something powerful.

...that being naked in your home is liberating and suddenly makes you feel better about your body.

...that if you reward people screaming at you by giving in to their demands, you train them and others to scream at you with impunity.

...that the fake Spring (always around the end of February or beginning of March) in Chicago is something special. All of sudden people are out in shirt sleeves and walking the lakefront. A week later, it’ll be like a dream we all had but a really good one.

...that one can make a lot of assumptions about the neighborhoods in Chicago but there is no escaping the fact that the Red Line smells like piss and weed and the Brown Line does not.

...that there must be a purpose of living beyond simply surviving despite the fact that survival is a heavy lift for most people. To find your purpose, look to the things that bring you the most joy and pursue.

...that telling people to calm down is less effective to actually getting them calm than the act of being calm in the first place. Lead by example.

...that, while the fascination with looking younger than people think you should look is a narcissistic vanity, it’s still pretty cool.