When I ask myself what I've found life is too short for, the word that pops into my head is “bullshit.” I realize that answer is somewhat tautological. It's almost the definition of bullshit that it's the stuff that life is too short for. And yet bullshit does have a distinctive character. There's something fake about it. It's the junk food of experience. If you ask yourself what you spend your time on that's bullshit, you probably already know the answer. Unnecessary meetings, pointless disputes, bureaucracy, posturing, dealing with other people's mistakes, traffic jams, addictive but unrewarding pastimes.

the colonel said I shouldn't tell them how the neutrons work and all the details because we want to keep things separate, so just tell them what to do to keep it safe.

I am personally passionate and anal about non-negotiables. If those needs aren't met, I quit. Life is too short to play-act if you don't have to.

But these days, if I have to choose between building my tennis résumé and building my family, I choose the latter.

This process has also involved slowing down and refusing a certain amount of labor that has been imposed upon me as a Black woman in this country.

So I’m listening, I’m watching, and I’m also reading while I’m making.

Visibility doesn’t equal power.

Yes, the Kuleshov effect. When you place one image next to another, meaning emerges. If you change one image, the meaning changes. They are these psychological landscapes that are being painted. So I find this technique and the various ways that montages can be assembled extremely helpful.

If im fearful of the project, then I know that I am on to something interesting.

It requires me to be in prayer and meditation daily, or else I will literally spiral out. It’s something that I put at the forefront of my life.