What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?

Sometimes a key moment can make a world of difference in our lives. Those moments are deeply underrepresented in our conversations relative to the importance they play in our lives. We hope to begin to remedy that below.

Aneta

A moment that really shaped how I see the world is not one single event, but a collection of experiences — losing loved ones unexpectedly, whether through breakups, death, or distance, and realizing that there will never be another chance to hear their laugh, their voice, or feel their love. In those moments, you confront the weight of being truly alone. Read more>>

Salomon Vertiz

Daniel Jones was a maintenance worker at The Renaissance Hotel in Long Beach and was diagnosed HIV positive. He lived with his pet dog Gladys, a Labrador-Retriever. On Thursday, April 30th, 1998, after being misled by his health insurer, Jones believed he was going to die soon and decided to take his own life alongside Gladys. I was 12-years-old watching Animaniacs when the interruption occurred. Read more>>

Lisa Gillette

I was working in cable television, leading a small team of writers, producers, and editors. We produced fifty to sixty on-air promos every month. A handful were for big blockbuster movies, most were for low-budget B-movies. The work was demanding, even if the credits didn’t shine on my demo reel. I landed an interview at a production company contracted with one of the major networks. Read more>>

Jaydi Samuels Kuba

It’s not especially uplifting, but I had a family member go to prison under a very unjust set of circumstances. It was an experience that made me a bit more mistrusting of our judicial system, but most importantly, taught me not to have blind faith in any one system. Read more>>

Amy Pickard

When my family died, I knew that I could be of service. My mantra has always been, ‘How can my talents best serve others?’. My mom’s death helped me realize how society is unprepared to face the deaths of their loved ones and their grief is kept in the dark. I now see the world as running on limited time. Read more>>

farbod rezvani

One of the moments that most shaped how I see the world happened when I was young, when my father gave my brother and me a simple challenge: find scrap lumber and nails and build a chair, one sturdy enough for him to sit on. There were no instructions, no shortcuts, and no room for failure. If it didn’t work, it didn’t count. Read more>>