“Are you wearing my socks?” he asked. Upon closer inspection, he laughed: “You’re wearing two different socks.”
Yiasou!
Stephanie Nikolopoulos is a writer, editor, writing teacher, and speaker based in New York City.
She is the coauthor, with Paul Maher Jr., of "Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road.'"
You can email her at stephanie_701 {@} yahoo.com
On the first of March, Greeks tie a braided bracelet of white and red around our wrists to celebrate the start of spring. White symbolizes the pale complexion of our winter skin. The red, though, symbolizes those rosy cheeks we get as we begin to spend more time tending to our gardens, meeting in the open-air cafes of the village square for frappes with friends, and, when it’s warm enough at last, venturing off to the beach.
Kalo mina, dear friends!
I went for a gelato break with my editor friend, and it was like stepping into a Wayne Thiebaud painting. What’s your favorite gelato flavor? Mine is hazelnut.
Unfortunately, it took me years to learn this. I was brought up to be polite, to give the benefit of the doubt, and to forgive, and I still believe in all those things, but if I’d followed my gut in certain situations I wouldn’t have had some of the pain I experienced in life. You can be nice and still say no, thanks. You can be generous and still have healthy boundaries. You can help others and still practice self-care. You can feel something is off and leave. You don’t need an excuse. You don’t need to give an explanation. Trust your intuition. And it goes the other way too: Society, family, and friends may have strong opinions about matters, and they may even have your best interest in mind, but sometimes breaking free of conventional wisdom is the wisest thing you can do. Sometimes your gut will tell you the risk is worth the reward. Sometimes doing the wild, weird, impractical thing is the right move. Blaze your own path. Follow your dreams. Dance with the whale. Live the life of your dreams, not someone else’s. Take to heart the Greek maxim “Know thyself.”
😇
Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg was only 15 years old when she began her school strike for climate change, sitting outside the Swedish Parliament. She is the youngest person to ever be included in The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list put out by Forbes. She speaks boldly and passionately. Her critics have often tried to silence her, but what I love about this quote is that it speaks to how sometimes, even when we don’t feel comfortable doing so, we have to use our voice.
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