by: Nadia Gerassimenko When I got my very own first cat, Sheldon, a ragdoll, I was going by my instinct, his endearing appearance, and descriptions I read about of how ragdolls are as feline creatures. I truly thought he was the one! Ragdolls are usually sociable, laid back, and cuddly. My Sheldon is not. While he is very sociable (he makes sure to make his presence known!), half the time I don’t know what he wants when he meows; he…
by Christine Stoddard I slathered more acrylic onto the set and sighed. It was one of the last days we had to paint theatrical scenery at a large church in Queens. After three weeks of leading volunteers to realize my vision for the upcoming play, I was exhausted. I was ready to peel off my paint-covered rags and hit the hay. Unfortunately, we still had hours left in the day and my “hay” was several neighborhoods away in Brooklyn. This…
by Dorie Colangelo I was a musician for 17 long years before I burned out on the music business and decided to put down the guitar. I just wasn’t having fun anymore. But being a creative person at heart, I couldn’t give up creating, so I shifted focus to my other love, which was cooking. I spent the next 4 years posting recipes and food stories regularly on a cooking blog that I created and checking out every food-related book…
by Tana Tymesen The 2016 election has been inflammatory and infuriating. If you’re not leaving work every day with a heart full of rage and your shoulders up to your ears, then congratulations, you don’t work in media! I hope this means you’re doing something you love. That doesn’t mean you don’t need to take some time for yourself. Women are socialized to put others before ourselves, and power structures at work and often at home encourage and reinforce…
Do you find yourself constantly refreshing your social media feeds, but still feeling drained? It’s a paradox. A refresh should clear the stage and cleanse the mind before a new influx of information, but in our media saturated world, “refresh” can signal the opposite. Instead of a calm pause, it can be a hastily patched up cliffhanger: we wait impatiently for the next set of posts to stave away stillness or silence. At The Refresh, we bring you carefully curated pieces…