It would be nearly impossible to deny the immense size of CU Boulder. The university, which boasts a student population of just over 33,000, can be overwhelming for a new student. It will inevitably take a new student a few days to become truly acquainted with the campus. Yet the daunting nature of CU Boulder is not limited to new students alone. Becoming disorientated with the campus is something that even experienced students can face. As someone who is entering her second year at the campus, there are places and buildings on the campus that even I have not set foot in. For this upcoming fall... Read More

I sat down at my computer and thought about what to write.  It had been a few weeks since my last article and I was happy to get back to work after my editor approved a couple weeks off.  Last weekend I flew to Minnesota to watch my sixteen-year-old daughter swim at a major meet, as well as visiting a longtime friend from my childhood. The week before I attended my mother’s memorial.  She had passed away after a short battle with cancer at the age of 74. Staring at the screen, I thought about the Rockies big weekend series against the Dodgers, and the Broncos opening act on Saturday versus... Read More

Take a breath. Exhale. Take an even deeper breath. Exhale. You just connected with every living thing past, present, and still yet to come. The very oxygen each one of us is presently breathing has been in the lungs and blood stream of every living thing that’s spent one second of life here. That same oxygen in your lungs has contributed to the life of every flower that’s ever bloomed, every tree that’s ever sprouted, every bird that’s ever flown, every fish that’s ever swam, every animal that’s ever run, and every human that’s ever entered this world. We’re connected to one another... Read More

Hate groups walk a very particular line, only they don’t know it. On the one hand, it wouldn’t be out of line to call members of the Ku Klux Klan and related organizations domestic terrorists. Entire seconds of research shows us a vast number of murders, lynchings, rapes, and attacks that are physical, emotional, and psychological in nature. On the other hand? There’s no other way to say it — they’re ridiculous. Grown-ass adults spending their time dressing up in sheets, using secret codes and goofball titles, and fervently believing the most nonsensical conspiracy theories possible.... Read More

We are busy! Competing for our time is a constant stream of notifications, emails, and texts, endless errands, work and family. Matching the hectic pace of living means that we might have bad eating habits. A growing body of research suggests that our bodies function optimally when we align our eating patterns with our circadian rhythms, the internal 24-hour cycles that tell our bodies when to wake up, when to eat, when to fall asleep. Studies show that chronically disrupting this rhythm — by eating late meals or nibbling on midnight snacks, for example — could be a recipe for weight gain and... Read More

In part one of this post, which you can read here, I addressed why I lived a very regimented life for nearly two decades (and, yes, I’m not so naïve to think that I don’t still possess this quality – I simply know that I now manifest it in a way that feels healthy to who I am as a person). The second part of this post, which you are obviously reading at this very moment, addresses more specifically HOW I got here. To buy an Airstream and commit to a full-time nomadic lifestyle, more or less, was not an overnight decision. In fact, I started looking at them a year before actually biting the... Read More

BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — AboutBoulder.com is kicking off the fall semester by announcing a partnership with the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder’s Athletics Department. AboutBoulder.com will feature the CU athletic departments branded content including events and scores. Readers will gain access to more extensive university related content, as well as opportunities to enter promotional contests for sports tickets. AboutBoulder.com has added a University contributor who will be covering athletics games and student life. MetroSampler is a Boulder, Colorado based... Read More

No two granules of sand are alike, no two snowflakes identical, no two people the same. In all the ways we are extraordinarily similar, we’re distinctly unique. The similar composition with which we are comprised tends to allow us to more readily compare our self to others and this is typically done from a singular, outward view. However, each of our existences are fundamentally different where one minor detail within our field of experience has the ability to leave us miles apart from someone else of equal composition within any number of days, let alone years. One slight degree of separation... Read More

One of the stereotypes about college students is their lack of interest, or lack of understanding of what the older generation consider to be culture. Students as a whole have garnered the reputation for sitting at home on their phone instead of going to art galleries or seeing the ballet. As a young person growing up in a dull town in Missouri, I was desperate to be set apart from this cliché. I worked to purposely dislike anything popular, anything that my teachers would have looked down on. If my classmates enjoyed it, I made sure I scoffed and got back to reading Pride and Prejudice. Now,... Read More

It can be hard to keep up with all the changes in cannabis, and the complexity of the plant sometimes makes it difficult to understand – there’s a lot more to cannabis than we first thought when it emerged into popular culture back in the 1960s. Indeed, while the world has always had knowledge of the medicinal properties of cannabis going back thousands of years, it’s only in recent decades that we’ve become aware of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), and how these and other cannabinoids work within the body to produce the effects they do. In this post, we’ll look at... Read More

As human beings, we’re all about categorization. That’s particularly true when it comes to how we view actors. Denzel Washington does righteousness. Bill Murray does sarcasm. Tom Cruise does focus. While we say we want something new from our film actors, what we often want is something that’s the same that feels new. It’s not fair, but there it is. So what happens when an actor isn’t easily categorized? Exhibit A is Mila Kunis. She’s been working steadily for several years, and while she’s mostly done comedy, she has an equal gift for drama. Her best films are probably Ted and Black... Read More

Europe has a brilliant mix of vibrant destinations, with mesmerizing views, rich culture and world-class coastlines that make it a great choice for summer vacations. There are so many wonderful destinations to choose from in Europe to suit your interests, from the adventurous types to sun seekers; those wanting the soak up the culture and history, and people looking for energetic nightlife. These are six of the best places for a summer break if you’re planning a getaway to Europe.   Santorini Santorini is one of the most breath-taking locations in the world. Once a volcanic island, it’s... Read More

Denver’s literary scene is flourishing thanks to the passionate persistence of its communities.  This vibrant community enables a diverse number of voices and modes for expression.  One of them being Stain’d Literary and Arts Magazine, a venture that has grown considerably over the past three years with an active community of workshop participants, open mic readers and attendees; their magazines are now distributed and sold across the country! I got in touch with Delia, the co-founder of Stain’d, to get further insight into their story and values. Where did Stain’d get its origins? Who... Read More

Life is full of hardships – grief, break ups, addiction – all times we might think about therapy.  You may be surprised to know the best time to get therapy is when your life is going well. There’s a stigma that therapy is only for people suffering a mental illness or going through a massive interpersonal issue. Therapy’s benefits extend far beyond periods of crisis.  Most people want to be more than ‘not depressed.’ They want to be  happy, productive, loving; they want to be well, not just free of dis-ease. Achieving your full potential requires a heck of a lot of self-knowledge,... Read More

Most people wonder how I got here. And, I don’t mean like, hey, I drove while hauling this big silver thing on the back of my Yukon. They wonder how I mentally got to a space that believed that living in 100 square feet without any real definitive geographic location to call home would be a good idea. If we’re being honest (and, yes, let’s always be honest), I’m not really sure where to begin. I imagine that all of life’s little moments have led me here. In fact, I don’t imagine anything. I know that all of life’s little moments have led me here. I really do feel as if this nomadic... Read More

The transition into college can be difficult to negotiate, especially coming from Springfield, Missouri to Boulder, Colorado. It would be difficult to imagine two places so opposite to each other. While Boulder may not seem like a big place to everyone; especially when one considers that my hometown of Springfield contains a larger population than Boulder, it was a significant change of pace. So, why does Boulder seem like a colossus compared to Springfield? Perhaps it is because Springfield is such a quiet place, earning the nickname, “the Queen of the Ozarks,” from many of the locals. There... Read More

Our reach and impact expand well beyond our present ability to conceive them. We do something, and it sets a pattern of events in motion that we will never fully become aware of. We do something that we deem simple, yet it holds within it, the potential to make a substantive impact in the life of someone else. Our actions are tiny pebbles being tossed into the vast ocean of humanity. They create ripples that continue to reverberate throughout, bouncing off other similarly small ripples, changing the nature of existence as it is. Negativity begets negativity. When we encounter someone, who is tossing... Read More

You have an opinion on Tom Cruise. You might be an obsessive cineaste like me, or you might be a casual filmgoer. But I guarantee you that, when I bring up the man formerly known as Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, a person who’s coming up on 40 years in the movie business, you likely aren’t responding with a hearty “Meh.” For a while, a long while there, he was the biggest movie star in the world.* The 80’s and 90’s were his time. Go take a gander at his IMDB page, and I’m willing to bet that anyone can find a movie he’s in that they like. He racked up some well-deserved Academy Award... Read More

Summer is marching on and many families are trying to squeeze in a family trip before school starts. According to experts, parents are better off spending their money on vacations than they are spending it on toys. Why? Family holidays are valued by children, both in the moment and as a memory. It’s all about spending time during which a child’s interests are genuinely taken into account. Travelling with your kids improves their brain development. “[The vacation] environment offers new experiences that are strong in combined social, physical, cognitive, and sensory interaction,”... Read More

I recently went on a date with a nice guy with whom I had quite a few shared interests.  During the course of the conversation, he mentioned that he didn’t have health care. I was a little surprised because in your 50s you start to have need for health care more than you did in your 30s and even 40s. When we parted company I noticed that he drove a very nice car and it made me think, why is health care such a low priority for him?  I never really thought that through however, because I started thinking downstream about a relationship with someone with no health care.  I considered what would... Read More