Hi all,

(This letter is being sent to previous students of mine in the past 3 years or who were in IMD or were PFs for me, as part of a series I started when the University of Washington Bothell–where I was before Appalachian State University–first went into lockdown. An archive of previous emails can be found on my website. And if you’re interested in a better intro to what this is, there’s an interview I did talking about these letters. This might be the last one that includes my UWB students. Email or send a message if you want to stay on the list!) 

This is my first letter since moving to North Carolina and taking on a new position at Appalachian State University. As such, most of you at App had no idea you’d be getting this letter from me at the end of the school year. I’ll see some of you next year, but some of you have graduated. Yay; grats!

It’s been pretty awesome here. I found a new home that in a lot of ways feels more like home than Seattle had been for 20 years! Everyone has been welcoming, and it really feels like people care about each other more than engaging in their own thing and being so focused on just making money. (Which reminds me of the thoughts I wrote about AI and how it’s spurred by capitalist greed like so much else in our world today…)

Anyway, I tend to project what may happen in your future, and I could be totally wrong, but I imagine some of you may be uncertain about it. Uncertain about what you’ll be doing next, uncertain about where this country is headed next, uncertain about AI, and uncertain about just a whole butt ton of stuff.

Well, you’re not alone, and, unfortunately, I’ve got no prediction superpowers. But sometimes I wonder if that’s a good thing. If I had known which paths to take for maximal happiness and the least sadness, I’m not sure I’d be who I am today. I think it’s the struggle and how we deal with it that defines us. Ironically, if I didn’t have to deal with grief or sorrow or injustice, I think I might be more of an asshole today. I think I wouldn’t care as much about others as I do now. I wouldn’t have been forced to think about life and its meaning. All of that…

And since I think that it is true that all of life’s wrinkles define us, I decided a while ago that the thing isn’t to fret about uncertainty and decisions. Instead, it’s to focus on what we can control, which is our response to changing situations. (Gandalf quote here…)

But we needn’t do this alone. You are loved and are connected to all of those around you. In fact, we’re all connected. We’re all essentially the same star stuff, given temporary consciousness, and will be gone in the blink of an eye. The fact that we even exist is the miracle. Our only job is to be. We matter, and we belong in the universe because we are the universe.

So, anyway, I write this as App State ends its school year. UWB still has a little way to go, but the news about Juniper Blessing hits pretty hard, so I felt compelled to write. My last letter was in Feb 2025, but I’m thinking I’ll prob start writing about once a quarter/semester again. Who knows?

Please take care and be at peace. Reach out to your friends and loved ones, and let them know you love them.

I love you, too.

mark