Monday Matter: Tacos, heartbreak and accent bias

Your biweekly Foreign Bodies roundup

Every other Monday, I send subscribers and gift recipients of immigrant mental health and storytelling newsletter Foreign Bodies stories I recently inhaled and adored. This is also a chance to do some housekeeping and give shout-outs and all that jazz.

First things first

A little housekeeping

What’s lifting my spirits these days

I’m recovering from a bad cold at the moment, prepping for a getaway to the Pacific Northwest and generally struggling to juggle my responsibilities without losing my mind. But making a list of what’s grounding me (and lifting me?) has always served me well in chaos. So here, a few things, people, etc. keeping my spirits nice n’ high:

• Lady and Bille’s smooch sessions

• not having Covid lol

• a clean kitchen

• weeknight concerts

• Gen Z voters

• everyone who impersonated Elon Musk on Twitter

• whoever impersonated Eli Lilly on Twitter

• the ridiculousness of all of us joining Mastodon and feeling like freshmen in college trying to find each other again

• cheddar and caramel popcorn

• Gypsy Herbal Cold Care tea with a spoonful of honey

• the indoor plants surviving this seasonal shift

• finally seeing muscle definition in my body after months of working on building strength

• Taylor Swift

• my trusty Prozac

A musical start to your Mondays 🎧

One song to groove to, cry to, drive to or share

This week’s artist pick, recommended by reader Alysha K., is the late American jazz poet, singer, musician, and author Gil Scott-Heron. You’ve probably heard his legendary spoken word poem, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” considered a major influence on hip-hop music.

Resource(s) of the week

Something helpful and interesting and cool (*storytelling opportunity)

• 10 ways to get mental health help during a therapist shortage: From the Washington Post’s Lindsey Bever, here’s a brief tip sheet with expert insight on what prospective patients should do when long waiting lists make it hard to find a therapist

• *Essay Revision Intensive: A virtual personal essay workshop from author Lilly Dancyger for anyone who’s written a personal essay that’s just not quite up to snuff. $99. Scheduled for 1-4 p.m. EST, Saturday, Dec. 3.