Heartbreak and anger: the great, gut-wrenching, soul-crushing duo. Pair that with both relief and regret, and you end with a whole bunch of feelings that leads one to do the only logical thing — open Medium in the middle of the night and start writing.

In case you haven’t heard, Disney is in the midst of laying off 28,000 hourly employees, or “Cast Members.” This week, more layoffs came around. It has been several years since I worked in the “Most Magical Place On Earth,” but I still have a slew of contacts living in the land of palm trees…

Like many millennials, my partner and I entered adulthood with crippling student debt and the inability to find jobs despite our college degrees. Instead, we both worked multiple low-wage jobs merely to be living paycheck-to-paycheck. At 26, he finally landed a job in his field as an engineer. I had moved to Florida after college, but this job happened to be in my home state of Massachusetts, so my now-husband and I made the decision to move in with my parents in attempts to get a grip on our student loans and be able to afford to purchase a home.

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By 1:00 yesterday afternoon, I was exhausted. Why? I didn’t have any coffee. When I contemplated it, I realized it had been several months since I had gone a day without a cup. “When did this happen?” I thought.

Five years ago, if someone had asked me how I liked my coffee, my answer would have been as far away from me as possible. Four years ago, I was drinking it only on those days where I was working from 6 am until after midnight, and I loaded it with soy milk and artificial flavor to keep it from actually…

Slack, Spoke, Slack, Spoke, ThruTalk, VoteBuilder,…repeat…It’s been a hectic few months as a volunteer for an underdog. Last week, that underdog, Senator Ed Markey, won re-election to the U.S. Senate. When rumors started to fly about a potential challenge by Joe Kennedy III last year, polling immediately put the not-yet-running Congressman Kennedy 17 points ahead, where he hovered even after entering the race. Until the pandemic struck…

Though in Congress for four decades, Ed Markey wasn’t well known in Massachusetts until this race. He wasn’t what some might call a “talking head” who is constantly doing the news circuits, and…

I am pro-Medicare for All. I believe a Green New Deal should be the absolute baseline for climate policy and that public colleges should be free. I want to see a mandatory buyback of assault weapons and a Universal Basic Income for all Americans. Despite the apparent difference in policy positions, Kamala Harris was my top choice for Vice President since before she announced (and ended) her campaign. I am elated that she could be the next occupant of the office.

Kamala Harris commands a room. She exudes confidence, is consistently bold, and doesn’t take no for an answer. She…

So you’re an introvert? So you hate talking on the phone? So you are intimidated talking to strangers?

Me too. I don’t answer my phone when it rings. If I need to find an electrician, I will immediately narrow my options to those who allow you to request a quote online. If I bought the wrong item, there is a decent chance I’ll just donate it instead of dealing with an exchange. I even spent six years in a job where talking was literally a reason to be fired. Real, human interaction? Nah. I’ll pass.

For some reason I still…