On January 7th, an ICE-related shooting in Minnesota shook communities across the state. In this episode, I process what it feels like to live just an hour away from where it happened—and how proximity makes events like this hit differently. When something violent and politically charged happens so close to home, it’s no longer just a headline. It’s personal, unsettling, and deeply confusing.

I talk about the difficulty of knowing what’s true when social media is flooded with opinions, partial information, and emotionally charged narratives. How do we decipher what’s really happening when every platform seems designed to divide us further? And how do we hold compassion for people on both sides of an issue when fear, anger, and grief are running so high?

This episode explores what it’s like living in a place where communities feel fractured, trust feels fragile, and uncertainty feels constant—while still trying to stay human, empathetic, and grounded.

I also shift gears and share a personal moment of light in the middle of all this heaviness: my recent trip to Key West and attending my first pole vault event in two years. After being away from the sport for so long, I was genuinely surprised to be welcomed back with open arms. That experience reminded me how powerful community can be—even when the world feels divided.

This episode is about proximity, perspective, truth, compassion, and finding moments of connection when things feel unstable.

Topics include:

• The January 7th ICE shooting in Minnesota

• Living close to a traumatic, divisive event

• Sorting truth from noise on social media

• Political and social division in local communities

• Fear, empathy, and compassion for multiple perspectives

• Returning to pole vault after two years away

• Finding belonging and connection again