Global Nomad

Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi take home the Outstanding Directing Emmy for their documentary, “Free Solo.”

Explore this city’s history and culture As the English writer Samuel Johnson once said: “Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is […]

In the all-too-swift arc that is the story of our lives, we touch thousands, change many, and are ourselves changed — often for the better. If we’re fortunate, our children become our friends, and they are there to honor the work we’ve done in the world when it’s our time to leave it. Such is the story of Edna Motley and her daughter Sonja.

All the boys in his family have unique names — including titles. “Master Sedrique Lynn Von Olison,” he laughs. It’s an effortless, full-bodied diaphragmatic roar perfect for his towering six-foot-five frame, caramel skin and dazzling pearly whites. With a laugh as contagious as his personality, I found myself sunk, engulfed, all-in. And that’s Olison’s advice to you, as well.

An estimated five percent of the U.S. population grew up in a military family, but there is not one television show dedicated to its subculture. There are no academic studies or museums focusing solely on military children. There is no Military B.R.A.T. or TCK section in your local library.

I attended journalism school and used my free time to write articles. I got one column, and later, a second one. Today, I’m amazed I didn’t quit sooner, but at 23, I was convinced I was on the right track. I won prizes and became newcomer of the year, so I ignored the fact that I wasn’t really happy. I didn’t have time to think about it, either.

As people, we’ve developed a psychological preset to categorize individuals based on linguistic pronunciation. We can easily determine a person’s origin by the way they speak a common language. But what happens when we have the mingling of multiple cultures over a period of time?

Hosted by two self-described changemakers from vastly different industries, VOC highlights others doing the work to understand the mindsets, situations and motivations that help them change the world.