I have a confession. Some days, the state of the world feels so bleak that I catch myself wishing something dramatic would shake society awake. Something that would force us to confront the widening gulf between the haves and the have-nots. The United States is one of the wealthiest nations on the planet, yet millions of people struggle just to survive. It’s heartbreaking, and yes, it makes me angry.

Hello Friends, July has arrived in a rush of sunshine, late nights, and the kind of busy that makes the days blur. I’m neck‑deep in creating book merch for upcoming fairs — mugs, bookmarks, keychains, stickers, annotation cards — a whole world of Somewhere Aching in physical form. It’s chaotic, but it’s also a joy.

“My name is Karen,” she said, standing slightly to introduce herself. “And yes, I am a Karen.” She didn’t smile when she said it. In fact, she didn’t smile at all, which was refreshing. Women were conditioned to smile, as if the fate of humanity rested on their positive attitude. If that were the case, then Karen was single-handedly wrecking the world.

Everywhere I look, I see assimilation: on social media, in churches, in institutions across the globe. People becoming like each other to fit in, smoothing out their edges until nothing unique remains. I’ve never understood how they do it.