essays
Non-fiction writing on topics of interest to me.
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It’s time to start staying in hotels again
It’s a Friday night. White clouds hang low in the sky, heavy with bursts of summer rain. The July sun is still lingering above the horizon – it won’t set until after 8pm, when the cicadas have started singing and the mosquitoes have already eaten me alive. I’m cruising down I-985, my foot hovering over…
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All flights lead to Atlanta: how ATL became the busiest airport in the world
It’s the weekend. I’m somewhere in West Virginia – at a family reunion, maybe. I might be visiting my parents in Michigan, or staying with my friends in Maine. I’m talking to a stranger, the friend of a friend or the wife of a cousin. I balance a Coke between my hands and run my…
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Reboot remake sequel prequels are fine, actually
I was a little disappointed when I found out Pixar was making a Toy Story 5. Like many kids who grew up during the early 2000s, I loved Toy Story and Toy Story 2. I was skeptical of Toy Story 3, but I still saw it in theaters and was pleasantly surprised by how much…
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On the backbone of a teenage girl
Content warning: This article includes descriptions of medical procedures and discussions of suicidal thoughts. The sky over the Royal National Ortopaedic Hospital is gray. It’s not raining yet, but it is may as well be. It’s late October, and the trees outside are just turning yellow. The glass buildings of the RNOH look like spaceships,…
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Saying “No” to Michigan
When I met my colleague Ryan in-person for the first time, he came into the office wearing a maize and blue striped tie. “Surely,” I had to ask. “You aren’t a Wolverine?” “Go Blue,” was his cheeky answer. He wasn’t the only University of Michigan graduate in my office. Both our deputy chief of staff…
Rachel M. Beard 