A year ago exactly, I wrote a post inspired by a dear friend, Deborah Lawrence about how to make friends. This past weekend I read a “Top Ten Things to Say to Make Friends” list written by a cherished family friend, Zoie. Zoie has many talents—she is a communicator, a community-maker, a leader (her school paper recently published an article about Zoie titled, “A New Leader Arrives”), and a very good friend to many. She listens deeply, answers every text within minutes, speaks out with courage, and is an unwavering, undaunted, supporter of the successes of others. A true friend. With her permission, I publish her list here. …Read on.

When we hear the phrase, “playing a role,” we often think of putting on a fake persona, being inauthentic. In reality, we show up in different roles all the time—we even wear different costumes for different roles! Think about dressing for work in a law office or at a restaurant—what would we wear for each? Think of what we wear to exercise vs. what we wear to a party—from shoes to hair, we change every aspect of our appearance. Parent, teacher, friend, partner, coach, presenter, leader, collaborator, moderator, health worker, therapist, community organizer, writer, artist, filmmaker, journalist, grandparent, representative, advisor, mentor, sibling, the list of roles we play, often daily, is inexhaustible. And none of these roles are inauthentic; we move from role to role seamlessly and constantly. Trouble arises when …Read on.