hoping nobody at the coffee shop notices the tears streaming down my cheeks as I text this link to my distance-running 9th grader.

I love the "responsibility (and joy)" move there.

"...that certain groups have had a different experience of American life and who feels that it is part of our intellectual responsibility (and joy) to engage with that history, so as to improve our democracy (that whole 'more perfect union' thing)."

I've been thinking about this a lot, and I think what makes writing attractive is when you get something unexpected. The connection you didn't anticipate, the logical thread getting built in new ways, the marvelous inductive/deductive Jenga towers that a terrific undergrad will create. 1/6