On August 7th I’m heading out to Cimarron, New Mexico. It will be my third time backpacking at the Philmont Scout Reservation.

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We’re taught to fear “the stranger”, but most sexual assaults are done by someone the victim knows. Most children will be assaulted by a relative or family friend, most women by an acquaintance. Teach your children to know a dangerous situation, rather than relying on “stranger danger”. Women should know that they are not necessarily safe when they are with people they know.

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Ten years ago, I ate 3.5 grams of psilocybe cubensis mushrooms for a simple, silly reason: I wanted to see things move. I have always been a textual person, a writer, and I wanted to unlock my visual imagination. What I experienced that sweet December night profoundly transformed the way I move through reality and engage with my fellow human beings. The visuals had very little to do with it.

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A few days ago, there was a little snafu where my subject line was attached to another e-mail. So here’s the real In the Defense of Cheese.

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As a college student/intern/tutor/babysitter/freelance writer figuring out what I want to do with my life, I wouldn’t be where I am now without the help of some amazing people who helped me early on in my career.  They could have easily ignored me and dismissed me as a “little kid,” but instead, they took me under their wing and gave me work experience, guidance, and time that I will always value.

Thank you to the editor of the Town Journal in Ridgewood, NJ.  At 14, I sent you my book report on the Odyssey as well as suggested that I become the paper’s next book reviewer.  You didn’t laugh, but invited me into your office for a meeting, where you offered me theposition.  I was elated.  You worked with me through awful draft after awful draft peppered with nonsensical words from the thesaurus because I thought they sounded fancy (and New York Times-esque).  You sent me long e-mails full of suggestions about how to improve my writing, and I took each one to heart.  I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to work with me and allowing me to pursue what I thought was merely a dream.

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Hi everyone! First I would like to say that English is not my native language, so forgive my possible (and probable) mistakes!   This letter below I wrote when I was 16 years-old and was going through a difficult phase of my life, and I thought that leaving this world was the only option. I have never showed this letter to anyone, and it was the first thing that came up in my mind when I was invited to write here. Fortunately, I don’t feel like this anymore and I now I want to live my life and work it out no matter how difficult it gets. There’s always a way out! : )

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In an age where we are constantly connected to everyone and everything, there’s never been a bigger divide in social interactions, I feel that people are losing the ability to communicate properly.

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I like to ask people what the last thing that really made them laugh was. I think you know a lot about someone when you know what they find the funniest. When you make somebody laugh a lot, you have complete control over them. It’s an interesting power trip to know that you’ve reduced somebody to a blubbering mess. So tell me, when was the last time you really, really laughed? Mine was when this happened:

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I find I have a few things I often admonish people about, and I’ve picked one to share with you all. First, a little about myself: I am an American guy in my lower twenties. I live in the center of the state of Pennsylvania, and, on the weekends, run a small take-out BBQ.

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You are what you know.

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