Originally published on Medium. It was a Wednesday. I was a high school junior, not yet 17. Throughout the day, I found myself glancing behind me, mentally noting how I could get out of any of my classrooms should the threat arise. At 16, I taught myself situational awareness because just 24 hours before, Dylan […]
I am not your model minority.
Originally published at The Swampscott Reporter. My father is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He came to this country in 1967 from Nara, Japan. He met and married my mother in 1969, in Florida. Five years later, they gave birth to my older sister. “Oh, bless your heart! Did you get her from Vietnam?” My tall, […]
The Real Costs of Soft Landings for Under-Enrolled Schools
Originally published on Boston Schools Fund Medium. Without a long-term plan for fiscal certainty, BPS is headed for a fiscal cliff — with no Soft Landing for itself This is part three of our five-part series on the BPS FY22 Budget Proposal. Read parts one and two. The art of building budgets is no easy […]
Motherhood at Year 5: What It’s Really Like Raising a Kindergartner
Originally posted on Red Tricycle (now Tinybeans). For a long time—too long, it felt like—I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to be a mom. I went through five years of infertility, five years of wondering if someone would ever grow up and call me “Mom.” It’s been 10 years since that day I got the […]
2016’s Motherhood Report Card: How Did We Do?
Originally published at Romper. It’s that time of year again — when retrospectives of the year past are as ubiquitous as peppermint mochas. As 2016 draws to a close, you’ll have plenty of lists and roundups on everything from the best and worst of entertainment, to the biggest headlines, to the ever depressing “Here’s All […]
Why Comparing Trump’s Election To Republicans’ Loss In 2008 Is Misguided Gaslighting
Originally published at Romper. It hasn’t even been a week since the election and its results that shocked large swaths of Americans, and still — protestors continue to take to the streets in their communities to protest against President-elect Donald Trump. Responses to Trump’s presidential victory have spanned just about all the five stages of […]
Anti-Trump Protests Around The Country Are About Solidarity & First Amendment Rights
Originally published at Romper. Stronger, Together: That has been former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign slogan and rallying cry for the past year and a half. Even on Wednesday morning, as Clinton gave her concession speech, she encouraged and reminded supporters there is still much work yet to be done, saying, “We need […]
Trump’s Claims The Election Is “Rigged” Against Him Are Un-American, Paranoid, & Dangerous
Originally published at Romper. With only three weeks until the election, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump is in that last, desperate dash to snag every undecided voter he can. That sprint to the election finish line has been beset with plenty of hurdles tumbling out of Trump’s own mouth — almost too many almost to […]
September 11 Through My Father’s Lens
Originally published at HuffPost. This is my dad: Akira Suwa. It’s rare to capture a photo of him, as he’s typically behind the camera. In 2014, he retired as a senior photojournalist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, his photojournalism career spanning nearly four decades. September 11, 2001 was a Tuesday: My dad’s regular day off. And […]
What Happened When My 3-Year-Old Asked Me About the Orlando Shooting
Originally published on Babble.com. After picking up my son up from daycare, I buckled him into his car seat. “Can we listen to the news?” my 3-year-old asked. “Sure, honey,” I replied. Our local public radio station — like so many media outlets right now — recapped the horrible massacre that happened in Orlando on […]
5 Innovations Disrupting Life as We Know It
Read the rest at Royal PortFolio magazine (archived). How disruptive technologies will change the way we live, work, play, learn—and even how we eat. dis·rupt, v: to cause (something) to be unable to continue in the normal way: to interrupt the normal progress or activity of (something)—Merriam Webster Dictionary. Disrupt: a term so pervasive in […]
Living in a Land of Virtual Reality
Originally published at Royal PortFolio (archived). Oculus Rift—the virtual reality goggles Kickstarted into existence—isn’t just a gamer’s dream, it’s a game-changer that Facebook bet $2 billion will alter the way we interact with technology and with the world around us. When you think of virtual reality, what comes to mind? Maybe you’re picturing cyberpunk techno-goggles strapped […]
Satellite Speed: O3b and the Future of Connectivity at Sea
Originally published at Royal PortFolio (archived). Gone are the days of the “communication blackout” from the moment you arrive on board. Have you Instagrammed your cruise holiday selfie or checked into your shore excursion via Facebook? Perhaps shared a Hyperlapse of a stunning sunset at sea? If you have, you’re certainly not alone. Gone are […]
I Can’t Do Baby Showers… and 6 Other Things Your Friend with Infertility Wants to Tell You
Originally published at Disney Baby (archived). It’s National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW). This is my fifth NIAW, the first since I gave birth to my son last year. I have these moments when I look at my son Judah in absolute wonder and amazement. I can’t believe he’s really here, I think: I can’t believe […]