Welcome to What Up Going On aka WUGO. You can read a little bit more about the author here. Longer form content is the main section below, while “Quick Takes” is a feed for content I want to share but with quicker and shorter takes in the sidebar feed.
- Words Mean Something
Words should be truthful because rhetoric based on lies has real implications. I sit here a few weeks removed from the 1st (and maybe only) presidential debate, and I am overwhelmed when I look back at not just the debate itself but all the events and news that has transpired since then. Writing about politics… Read more: Words Mean Something - To Those Who Go Before Us
To the people whose lives were examples for usWho showed us the way without trying; To those who cared more deeply than was expected of them; To those who quietly prepared routes for usNot knowing where those paths would take us; To those whose offhanded comments steered usTowards the places we’d find and make lifelong… Read more: To Those Who Go Before Us - The Performative Nature of America
Always Camera Ready It’s quite incredible how much society has shaped us into thinking we need to be “on” all the time. We have to be ready with the right inspirational quote, or drop a spicy take on some topic, to have a well-told story, to have the perfect Instagram-ready vacation photo no matter how… Read more: The Performative Nature of America - Noticing
Every once in a while, I am reminded that we need to remind others that we exist and of what we “bring to the table.” It is not the natural state for many of us to notice others. It is not my natural state to do things intentionally to be noticed. - Nobody is a Stranger in Scotland
Once in a while you meet someone you didn’t quite expect and that person ends up imprinting a part of themselves onto you, whether they were intending to or not. And yet, you walk away from that experience being extremely grateful. - Don’t You Forget About MeDon’t you forget about meStanding over here quietlyUnsure how to draw attention to myselfWithout feeling selfishI don’t need the spotlightJust don’t leave me in the shadowsMy silence doesn’t mean I’m fineThis heart is heavy tonightWith much unspoken struggle and concernWords will come once presence is felt -June 3 2018
- Do You See What I See?
During a recent conversation with a couple of friends, the topic veered off into ink colors specifically for what to put into a fountain pen. As I was looking at color swabs my friend T was putting on paper to get my opinion, I commented on how similar two of them looked to me and… Read more: Do You See What I See? - In Your Own Words
In the last few years, I’ve watched people I know take on new personas online and spout off with positions on topics on social media and speak in tones and absolutes that would trouble me if I heard them talk that same way in person. I’ve seen how calloused and stubborn we have become in… Read more: In Your Own Words - Pandemic Prose Ponderings
Is there room for me at the table?Did you remember I was coming for dinner tonight?I came hungry in anticipationEven skipped out on instant noodles at home There are a lot more cars in the drivewayThan I expectedI must have missed a group textHope it’s not a loud partyWhere we can barely understand each otherAnd… Read more: Pandemic Prose Ponderings - 2020, The Loss Of Nuance, and The Callousness of Selfish Gain
I was not ready for what this year became. I suspect you, reader, were not either. This year was hard. Though like many others I tried to make do with what was dealt. I spent more time alone than usual and wrote about feeling the need to be cared for as a single person. Travel… Read more: 2020, The Loss Of Nuance, and The Callousness of Selfish Gain