Finding stability in chaotic times

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I am exhausted, both physically, from juggling all of my side hustles, and mentally, from keeping up with a brutal news cycle. For once, I have no idea what to say about things happening in the world.

I’m not a stranger to feeling like I live in a chaotic world — after all, I spent six months as a K-12 public school substitute teacher, primarily in low-income areas. On one of my toughest days subbing for a middle school math class, I stepped into the bathroom for a break and someone had put a note on the mirror that said something like, “you can’t change other people, but you can change yourself.” That quote has stayed with me, though I do not wish to put on my sub badge ever again (man, that was a tough job).

So: here’s to looking inward this month rather than relying on the world around me to be stable or even make sense. I have a quote on my desk from Aristotle that says “happiness depends on ourselves” and … in my experience, that’s really true.

Fancy Comma updates:

The audiobook version of SCIENCE X MARKETING, Amplifying Science Communication with Public Relations and How to Get Started in Freelance Science Writing are now available.

On the blog, we talked about hooking in your audience, how to be proactive in science policy, the science policy spectrum, and reclaiming your science identity after leaving academic science. We’re lucky to have two new interns, Ella Lesher and Toby Shu, who are working on blogs at the intersection of their interests and expertise (Ella: neuroscience, law, and policy and Toby: AI, law, and science). Subscribe to our blog (or catch updates here).

Earlier this year, I was lucky to chat with Gertrude Nonterah of The Bold PhD about my path to science policy, and an edited version of that interview was published June 3, 2025. Check that out here.

I also interviewed Adama Saccoh, a PhD student who runs the science careers site The Catalyst In Me:

That’s all for this month — see you next month! Until then, take good care.