5 more of The Midst's most popular 2024 stories
Overqualified for that job? | Pros and cons of Ozempic | Do I have to choose between Botox and feminism?
I’m big on reflection. I find it cathartic.
At the end of each year, I revel in looking back at my journal about what pissed me off and what moved me forward. I love thinking about what I learned, what I’ll never do again if possible, and what’s up next.
Same goes for reflecting on the year at The Midst. Here’s part 2 of our most popular Substacks of 2024. In case you missed it, part 1 is here.
— Amy Cuevas Schroeder, founder of The Midst
Are you overqualified — or overaged — for that job?
“Should I start my résumé 10 years later?” I asked my job recruiter. I did take off the years I graduated from college and grad school, but the math is simple when your corporate career starts in 1999.
Finding a new job (spoiler alert: we staffers at The Midst still have full-time jobs during this start-up phase), is like being on Tinder all over again. Do I look too old? Do I represent myself respectfully? Is anyone looking at me? And the worst: When will they respond? (Side note: No shame for Tinder users — it’s how I met my partner at 43.)
The most important labels to wear every single season
My divorce and the personal events surrounding it nearly killed me. The heartache and literal pain — I distinctly remember the sensation, like someone had dragged a dull knife down my sternum — felt unbearable. One thing kept me going, got me sober, and raised my standards: the little boy who called me “Mom.”
The insane love I have for my son and the identity of this label, Mom, provided me with objectivity: I would not be an irresponsible parent — I would be an inspirational, hard-working mother. I’ve seen these women all around me — the masters of juggling work and kids and relationships and self — as examples of strength, and (eventually one day) I got this, too.
Ozempic: Weighing the pros and (often hidden) cons
That refrain has been repeated since Kate Moss popularized it in the 2000s. And if you are like me, the 1 in 3 adults in the US who are overweight, it reminds you of the stigma that is often tied to fatness: you’d rather indulge yourself with food than opt for the skinny life, a life you may never get a taste of. As though body size is solely a reflection of discipline, and not a result of a demanding, sedentary, junk-food-filled society.
Yes, obesity is a health crisis. But our nation’s weight issue is not only a medical concern, but a cultural one, too. Study after study validates that overweight people, especially women, face stigma and discrimination that result in favoring the fit. That’s been socially acceptable for decades.
Why is everyone so concerned that I rent?
You’re throwing away your money! Your rent is more than my mortgage!
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. Like getting married and having kids, women have a timeline for these things, according to society, and I missed the train to Adultville.
Pause. Rewind. Actually, I did get married — then divorced. And I did have a kid who I raised alone. Does that count for a hole or two in my adulting punch card, Joneses? It certainly counts for a hole in my bank account — my divorce set me back tens of thousands of dollars, not to mention years, toward the one thing that seems to matter most to everyone but me: home ownership.
Do I have to choose between Botox and feminism?
BY SARAH NARDI
Because I spend an ungodly amount of time sitting in front of my computer, its desktop has become like a window into my soul. Scattered across the digital expanse are screenshots of things that, for various reasons, have caught my eye: A recipe for green curry, a woman suspended in crow pose, multiple examples of “French girl hair.” The desktop is like a mood board assembled by the better angels of my nature — a place of clean eating, inner peace, and effortless style.
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