Brene Brown

Brene Brown is all over the place right now; podcasts, netflix specials, books, and even billboards. And there is a reason why. She is wise, relatable, informative, honest, and real. Known as a researcher and story teller, she is a self help guru that anyone and everyone can learn from. I watched her ultra famous Ted Talk (one of the top 5 Ted talks of all time — over 40 million views!) years ago, and find myself re-wathching it every year to relearn all that she has to share. She has spent years researching shame and vulnerability and shares it in an honest and approachable manner. And her most recent talk, a netflix special on courage (“The Call To Courage“), shame, joy, and human connection is amazing.   I found myself crying, laughing, and wanting immediately to REWATCH it all over again. It is that good.

 

Watch it now. Although, if you haven’t yet watched her 20 minute Ted Talk on Shame, that is where you should start. THENNNNNNN, you should watch this hour plus talk on Netflix. It is new (came out on April 19th — a couple weeks ago).

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Truly Madly Guilty- Interview with Liane Moriarty’s Literary Agent

Don’t you love how small the world is? I was raving about Truly Madly Guilty this summer, and the next week Ken discovered that his friend’s wife, Faye Bender, is the literary agent for Liane Moriarty (not to mention a number of other authors).  I had the privilege of interviewing Faye and finding out more about literary agents and the writing world. Take a look!

 

Meet Faye, Literary Agent Extraordinaire.

Meet Faye Bender, Literary Agent Extraordinaire.

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Teacher’s Day!

Happy Teacher’s Day and Happy Teacher’s Week! Yes, the first full week of May is National Teacher Appreciation Week.  Hooray! And tomorrow (Tuesday) is National Teacher’s Day.  For those of you who don’t know, when I am not blogging/raising my son/exercising/cooking random healthy food concoctions, I am a middle school math teacher.  This is actually my 8th year of teaching math and I have taught in both public and private high schools and middle schools on the West Coast and East.

I love teaching.  Getting through to a student and making a difference is an incredible feeling.  I am obviously biased, but I think teachers are incredibly underappreciated (and underpaid!).  Especially living in New York where there is so much wealth and so many people who work in finance, it seems crazy to me my mind that teachers aren’t more appreciated, and that there isn’t more of an effort to attract people to education.

Teachers do love being told that they are making a difference.  So if you are a student, a parent of a student, or a friend of a teacher, make sure you do something to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week and Teacher’s Day.  A small comment, thank you note, or other sign of appreciation goes a long way. Trust me!!

Who is your favorite teacher and how did he or she affect your life? Tell your story and forward this to your teacher! I can tell you from first hand experience how incredibly touching any thank you, email, note, or hug means. It is those moments that make teaching all worth it.

Anika Yael Natori, aka, The Josie Girl

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