For the past two and a half years, I’ve been working full-time as a freelance editor, and I’ve been loving it. It allows me to work wherever I want, whenever I want, and with decent pay (around $30 per hour). And I feel extremely fortunate that getting established as a freelance editor has allowed me to seamlessly continue working from home during the pandemic.

While I would ideally like to be paid to write full-time, for me writing hasn’t been as lucrative or reliable as editing. I’ve found that even when I am paid for my writing, I usually end up making less money per hour and putting in more effort than I do with editing. …

I’m embarrassed to admit that up until a few days ago, I was completely unaware that Angela Davis is a lesbian. It made me think — if I, a bisexual leftist and passionate devotee of Angela Davis, was not aware, how many other people must be unaware?

I was partly upset at myself for being oblivious. But I was more upset reflecting on why my history textbooks never once mentioned her sexuality. What does that mean about our society? How deeply has homophobia hijacked the way we teach history in the US?

So I did some research to find out if there were other prominent queer historical figures whose sexuality had been swept under the rug in my history classes at school. …

Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, my single female friends have been more active on dating apps and dating sites. They’ve been scouring Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, Coffee Meets Bagel, and many more apps, for a romantic companion to help them endure the hellscape that is 2020. They’ve searched high and low to find a fulfilling relationship that will ideally last beyond the end of the pandemic.

But even though they’re all wonderful and attractive people, none of them have had any luck finding anything that really clicks. They’ve been ignored by most of the people they reach out to. The few responses they have received haven’t been very promising. …

I’ve had a terrible history with job interviews. I absolutely suck at them. It’s no coincidence that some of the best jobs I’ve had — one as a teaching assistant at a university and another as an academic editor for an editing company — did not require interviews. Instead, the hiring process was more merit-based, consisting of completing activities that the job would actually involve.

For the editing job, I edited sample documents. I liked that process because it allowed me to display my editing skills better than I could have by responding to a litany of trite questions (“what are your biggest weaknesses?”) …

Content warning: Explicitly racist quotes and ideas.

In recent years, it’s thankfully become a bit more fashionable to hold public figures accountable for their racism and bigoted practices. For instance, Thomas Jefferson has been receiving criticism for owning slaves. Activists have — sometimes successfully — fought vociferously for the removal of Confederate monuments such as those commemorating Robert E. Lee.

This development has been extremely refreshing and long overdue.

But in reality, most historical figures are still not being held to a reasonable standard. We blindly worship far too many “great” men and women who don’t deserve to be elevated.

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of historical figures who are still lauded as heroes even though they were rabid racists. …

In 2004, Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn described the “gay agenda” as the most urgent threat facing America — far more dangerous that any terrorist activity.

That wasn’t the first time a conservative sounded the alarm about this supposed menace. The term “gay agenda” was popularized by the Christian right in the 90s, when an evangelical religious group released an extremely bigoted video series called The Gay Agenda. The videos made claims that were absolutely absurd. For instance, one of them claimed that 75% of gay men regularly eat feces and that over 70% have an STD.

And it seems that this moral panic hasn’t waned since the 90s — I personally encounter it daily on the internet. …

SATIRE

Some say the purpose of writing is to change the world. Others say it’s to expand the collective wisdom of humanity.

I call bullshit. I became a writer for two simple reasons — I like when people tell me I’m brilliant, and I like money.

Isn’t anyone who tells you they like writing for those other stupid reasons just lying to you?

Come on. Serious writers like me don’t get hung up on causes and ideas — I care about clicks. Here’s how to ensure your writing goes viral without providing any value or substance.

1. Say what everyone wants to hear even though it isn’t true.

Promise your readers wonderful things that are wildly unrealistic. Tell them bullshit like “you can achieve anything you set your mind to… blah blah blah.” …

I recently learned that around 50% of people identify as shy. It made me wonder — if so many people are shy, then why is shyness often perceived as a flaw rather than a normal aspect of human existence?

Why is every discussion of shyness focused on how to “fix” it and eliminate it at all costs?

Maybe I’m biased, but I’ve personally never understood why so many people think shyness is a negative trait — I’ve always felt a strong affinity towards shy people.

As a child, I myself was painfully shy. Every single day at school, I was bombarded with questions and comments that insinuated that shy is the worst thing you can possibly be. …