I’m writing this on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. This same June day has triggered many conflictive thoughts and tough decisions for me over the years starting way back in the summer before I entered high school as a tenth grader. As a gregarious Virgo kid (Beyoncé and I, naturally, share a September 4 birthday), I’d still be 14 years old when I stepped in to Southwest Miami Senior High School for the first time. And I knew before I took such a momentous step, I had a tough call to make. The issue? Tennis. Was…

During the pandemic, masses of urban dwellers around the country transplanted themselves to more pastoral, if not more affordable, settings. Even now, post-pandemic, New York City inhabitants—more accustomed to concrete…