It’s my first newsletter post! Thank you for reading!
Who am I?
Your guess is as good as mine. No, I'm only joking. I'm Jasmine. If you're subscribed you know me and I know you, most likely.
What is this?
Three times a week, I'll write you a sweet little newsletter with cool stuff people are doing in Guam and Micronesia, plus at least once a week I'll sneak in a pretty sunset photo or maybe a meme.
Why is it called The Husk?
It's a nod to the coconut, a truly majestic fruit that's sustained the lives of the people of Micronesia in many ways. Plus, I sometimes feel like a "coconut" in the slang, disparaging way (‘white’ inside, ‘brown’ outside). This is not to say the folks I'll feature in these newsletters are coconuts nor do I think they are coconuts...yikes. Should I rename? I can't, I already changed the URL five times...I'm super indecisive.
This isn’t the newsletter for knowing everything. There are some things that I know about that I can write about. Then, there are some things that I don’t know about that I may not write about.
And then there are things that I don’t know about that I want to write about and so in those instances I’ll do my best to learn what I can so that I can write about it without seeming like a massive idiot. And I might get it wrong and if I do feel free to send me thoughtful feedback on how I can improve and how I missed the mark.
(Side note: Missed the Mark could be a cool newsletter name or a podcast title if your name is Mark.)
Cool adventure alert
Yamase conquers Challenger Deep
Very honestly, the coolest thing to happen in Micronesia this month was Nicole Yamase, Pohnpeian and literal almost PhD doctor, becoming the FIRST PACIFIC ISLANDER /Youngest woman/ first FSM citizen to travel to the deepest part of the ocean in the Mariana Trench in the FSM EEZ.
It's pretty badass. I watched her talk with FSM President Panuelo on Facebook on Wednesday and it was equally educational and inspirational.
Find what you love by exploring. Our ancestors are explorers, it's in our blood. Don't be afraid to step out of the box....Don't be afraid to be the first.
-Nicole Yamase
I also watched this video from Anna Akana about core beliefs and now I'm having an existential crisis. I can usually count on Anna Akana to make me think about things.
Erin Moon and her community have this We Got You Club. Basically, people in need reach out and people who can help, help. Even you can’t help, I found it awe-inspiring just to go through the spreadsheet and see all those strangers helping each other.
If you're into podcasts the Savvy Psychologist episode this week explains how couples therapy techniques could help us talk to our friends or family who have different political views.
I tried this Chrome extension that'll show you if a news article you're reading is left-leaning, right-leaning, or center. It says it "works everywhere" but when I visited a local news site, it didn't show the indicator bar as left/right/center like it does on national news websites…. So it doesn't work everywhere.
But if you're the kind of person who wants to examine what other sources are saying about a national story, this might be worth checking out.
Speaking of Chrome extensions, this one makes webpages look they're in dark mode/night mode. It has been very helpful. https://nighteye.app/
I self-diagnosed myself with eyestrain a week ago and then because I am my own doctor now, I prescribed myself this extension even though there is no proven reason that dark mode would alleviate eyestrain.
<<<<Shameless finsta plug.>>>>>
Finally, one of the last things I worked on as a staff reporter for the Pacific Daily News is this piece on social workers. They were all so nice, so please read. I spent the last five years covering the crime beat which isn’t always so nice so I was happy to speak with nice people lol.
I'm off to drink some kombucha because my internal bacteria biome is out of whack.
Thanks for reading. Write to you again, soon.
Cheers,
Jasmine
I wouldn't have known about the coolest thing that happened in Micronesia this month if it weren't for The Husk! We stan a powerful Micronesian woman!