MAGGIE <3

Well shiiiiiiit. Maggie Rogers absolutely destroyed Minneapolis last night.

Some of her best moments were: first, asking all the single people in the crowd to raise their hands and asking us to look around at all of the hot, single people in the crowd. Next, Maggie's "I'm Speaking" moment: when she was expressing heartfelt love for the crowd, this one guy was yelling some compliments at her. She totally called him out and asked him to stop yelling and to listen. She reflected that the world would be a better place if more men took the time to listen. The crowd absolutely lost their shit. And finally, Maggie restarted two separate songs after messing up the lyrics once (or twice). She was so sweet about it, and the crowd just seemed to love her more for it.

My other big takeaway was how much fun Maggie was having. She was living her dream and seemed genuinely elated to be doing it and to have us there with her. I felt very loved and seen by the performer, which is rare. She stuck to her set list most of the time and didn't chat with us too much, but when she did chat it felt meaningful. 13/10 performance.

Dare to Be Different

I remember so clearly walking into Valley View Middle School one day in sixth grade to find two of my friends wearing the same T-shirt. With a strong sense of irony even as a sixth grader, I enjoyed the fact that both of their shirts boasted the phrase "Dare to Be Different" along with a cute turtle. As a sixth grader, I didn't really think deeply about why a cool brand like American Eagle or Hollister would sell a T-shirt proclaiming "Dare to Be Different" to tween girls.

Since that day, I've had a lot of time to think about it. There is something so incredibly alluring about individual free choice. Even in the field of public health, individual interventions are often seen as the way to change societal problems. Worried you are gaining too much weight? Try intermittent fasting or a new gym routine. Worried about mental health during the pandemic? Surely there is an individual therapist who could help you with that. We love individual agency, free choice, the American Dream of self reliance.

But sometimes that breaks down. There are larger systems at play. And by not acknowledging these lager systems and institutions, we are setting ourselves up for failure in our quest for individual change.

One of our most deeply held cultural Western beliefs is the morality of good health (sometimes called Healthism). After all, one contributes more to society when they are in good health. However, our society does not do everything possible to promote the good health of its individuals. A large amount of burden is left to the individual - to find housing, to secure a good food, to secure work, and even to secure healthcare. When one fails to secure these things for oneself, it feels like a personal failure.

In addition, we have visual markers of health and success that we have internalized as a society. At some point, we switched from viewing fat people as those who could afford to eat more to viewing fat people as those who are gluttonous. We view people in large bodies as having made poor individual choices which have reduced their health, and therefore their worth as a member of society. We have extrapolated our belief that good health is morally good and decided that being overweight is morally bad. However, we have not generally stopped to question whether good health is, in fact, tied to being a certain weight.

So, what's the deal? Can I be fat and healthy? Beyond this important question, it's important to recognize that one's worth is not in fact tied to their health. But to answer the question - yes. You can absolutely be fat and healthy. Weight is not a good proxy measure for health. There's a ton of research on this and I won't get into the weeds.

Let's Dare to Be Different and explore the ways in which we think about weight, health and morality. It's more complicated than it seems, but I'm on this journey with you.

Until next time,

Sarah

Outward Bound for Life

Well I'm just tickled pink to report what a great time I had on my first Outward Bound adventure this January. The scenery? 10/10. The lack of bugs? 11/10. The people? 13/10.

We backpacked in Big Bend National Park for 6 days and 5 nights (as well as a little rock climbing and a lot of driving). Here are some important takeaways from the course:

1. Bring a star lazer pointer for optimal star party action. For example this one. Just be sure not to point it at any planes or eyeballs.

2. Respect the cacti. Bring a good pair of tweezers with you because they're sure to get ya at least once. They're so beautiful though you can't help but forgive them.

3. Poop high, pee low. Go uphill to poo and downhill to pee. The rain will wash away things that are in the washes more easily than things that are uphill.

4. Bring an open mind. You never know who you'll meet and how they will change your life. How neat is that?

5. Water is scarce in the desert. Be ready to carry more water than you think you need day to day, because you never know what a water source will look like until you reach it.

6. The visitor center at the Chisos Basin closes for lunch between 12 pm and 1pm. If you are planning to get a national park stamp or become a Junior Ranger between these hours, think again.

7. It's fun to be a part of a team as an adult. Many of my crew-mates had not been a part of a formal team in many years, and we had a lot of fun working together and cheering each other on.

8. It gets cold at night. Snuggy bottles (hot water in Nalgene bottles) are a true life saver.

Many thanks to my crew-mates and instructors for making the trip incredible and so memorable. If you're interested learning more or in going on an Outward Bound course, I'm always happy to chat (and to share my family and friends discount code with ya). Just holler!

Peace, love and chow,

Sarah