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BURZLAFF | The Tip Jar (2): The Courage to Stay: On Belonging and the Quiet Power of Small Choices
A message arrived in my tip jar last week. It was quiet, vulnerable and honest in a way few of us feel allowed to be in public. The writer spoke about living with ADHD and shared how stimulant medication has helped them manage its practical dimensions, even while a recent New York Times article made them rethink the very framework in which we understand it: not so much as a disorder, but as a condition shaped by environment, expectation and emotion. That insight sparked a wider, more personal reflection: What if Cornell isn’t the right place for me? “I have come to realize that I do not belong at Cornell,”…
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BURZLAFF | The Tip Jar (1)
Last week, a student submitted a response through my Tip Sheet following a difficult conversation with their younger sister, a student at another Ivy League school. “She asked me ‘Would you be friends with someone who voted for Trump?’” Their reply was instinctive: “yes of course” while “[their sister’s] answer was a definite no.” The student explained that this difference was not out of ideology, but lived experience: “My friends voted for Trump. They’re my friends. If they were scoundrels, I wouldn’t be friends with them.” But that answer opened the door to deeper questions — about empathy, loyalty, history and how we live with political difference. “How do you…