91Ӱ

Editor's Note

Well, to be honest

Comfort Dorn
Jan. 4, 2020

A couple of decades ago, I used to walk three miles every morning with two friends. The goal was fitness, but it was also social time.

Some days we woke the neighbors with our hoots of laughter. But when my long-disintegrating marriage really started to fall apart, I got quiet and sad. Of course, my friends noticed. One cold dark morning we talked about it, and one of my friends told me that I should pretend to be happy. After a while, she reasoned, I’d start to believe myself and really be happy; in the meantime, other people wouldn’t feel uncomfortable around me. I tried to follow her advice, but I only felt worse.

Not only was I failing at holding my family together, I couldn’t even fool myself into being cheerful.

With hindsight, I can now say that was awful advice. Pretending doesn’t solve much.

I thought about this when I first read several of the personal essays in this issue’s wellness section — what struck me most was their honesty. Before these writers figured out how to take care of themselves, they had to face up to what ailed them — to the ways they were broken. As they walked me (metaphorically) through their experiences of stress and pain, I realized that all of us need to see and be ourselves truthfully before we can find a way to heal and be well. I am grateful for these difficult shared journeys. I hope you will be too.

✥ӿ✥

On a completely different note: It’s a new year. Sometimes that means changes, sometimes not. Here at the 91Ӱ and Molecular Biology (and specifically at this magazine), 2020 means big changes to our online presence. We have a handsome new website, and 91ӰToday is moving to daily publishing.

What does that mean? Instead of throwing an entire issue of the magazine onto the website early in the month, we will post new articles and essays every day. We’re playing around with themes like “Member Monday” and “Fats Tuesday” (the “s” is not a typo — that’s the day for lipids). The magazine site will grow to include our public affairs department’s policy blog, weekly careers columns and monthly health observances. As a big bonus, the site also will be mobile friendly, so you can read 91ӰToday everywhere you go.

Be well — and may you thrive in the year to come.

Enjoy reading 91ӰToday?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.

Learn more
Comfort Dorn

Comfort Dorn is the managing editor of 91ӰToday.

Get the latest from 91ӰToday

Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.

Latest in Opinions

Opinions highlights or most popular articles

Hope for a cure hangs on research
Essay

Hope for a cure hangs on research

July 17, 2025

Amid drastic proposed cuts to biomedical research, rare disease families like Hailey Adkisson’s fight for survival and hope. Without funding, science can’t “catch up” to help the patients who need it most.

AI can be an asset, 91Ӱeducators say
Advice

AI can be an asset, 91Ӱeducators say

July 9, 2025

Pedagogy experts share how they use artificial intelligence to save time, increase accessibility and prepare students for a changing world.

Sketching, scribbling and scicomm
Science Communication

Sketching, scribbling and scicomm

April 16, 2025

Graduate student Ari Paiz describes how her love of science and art blend to make her an effective science communicator.

Embrace your neurodivergence and flourish in college
Diversity

Embrace your neurodivergence and flourish in college

April 14, 2025

This guide offers practical advice on setting yourself up for success — learn how to leverage campus resources, work with professors and embrace your strengths.

Survival tools for a neurodivergent brain in academia
Essay

Survival tools for a neurodivergent brain in academia

April 10, 2025

Working in academia is hard, and being neurodivergent makes it harder. Here are a few tools that may help, from a Ph.D. student with ADHD.

Hidden strengths of an autistic scientist
Essay

Hidden strengths of an autistic scientist

April 3, 2025

Navigating the world of scientific research as an autistic scientist comes with unique challenges —microaggressions, communication hurdles and the constant pressure to conform to social norms, postbaccalaureate student Taylor Stolberg writes.