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It was the mermaids that got me. At least that’s how I like to tell the story.

(via Scuba diving can boost your body self-image)

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STANDING ON THE garden rooftop of the Warsaw University Library (Biblioteka Uniwersytecka w Warszawie) feels like being at the center of the universe, or at least of Poland. From the perch, you can see the spire of the Palace of Culture and Science, the next-door Copernicus Science Centre, the basketlike PGE Narodowy stadium, and the banks of the Vistula River. Below, visible through large arching windows, it’s also easy to spot students sitting in the study rooms below, surrounded by stacks of books.

(via Europe's Most Innovative Library Has a Botanical Garden on the Roof | WIRED)

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“I’m pretty aware that until you have grieved your losses, it’s very difficult to experience joy, right?” Caterina Scorsone muses. “So much of the American ethos is about avoiding grief, and we won’t talk about that. I think that grief is actually the key to getting us to the feeling of deep security and joy that we’re looking for by avoiding it.”

(via Caterina Scorsone on Grief, Healing, and Why She Loves Her ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Character Amelia Shepherd)

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I’m floating at the surface of dazzling blue water in Wakaya, Fiji, when a patch of coral catches my eye, fanning out in stunning shades of orange, pink and red just below my feet. I breathe deeply, slowing down my heart rate, ending with one final gulp of air. And then, under the watchful eye of our guide, I dive below to get a closer look, marveling as the water closes around me and I slip into what feels like another world.

(via Freedivers - Range Travel)

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Grief may be one of life’s few universal experiences. But while Swiss American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross went so far as to organize patterns of grieving into categories (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance), the way they play out looks dramatically different from person to person.

(via 10 Times ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Got Grief Right)

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During the early seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, the show was simply that thing my college roommate and I would gather on our threadbare couch to watch every Thursday night. We were vaguely aware that it was a medical drama, but between bites of mac and cheese, we mainly discussed which doctor was the most attractive (being geeks at heart, we were on Team George). Of course, Grey’s started strong, its early years packed with the kind of storylines that mainstream television shows usually wait years to tell. But since I hadn’t yet experienced the type of grief that accumulates from simply being a human moving through the world, much of the show registered at the time as delicious storytelling.

(via The Ineffable Beauty of Grief on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’)

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When I was first gifted a few Tula Blue pieces, my initial response was more ‘huh?’ than ‘ooh!’ I wasn’t a jewelry girl at the time—a fact that was as much a part of my identity as my dislike of Jello and Tom Cruise movies. Place something around my neck or wrists simply for aesthetic value? What if someone mistakes me for a girls’ girl?! (Don’t worry, that’s since changed.)

(via How A Tula Blue Skeptic Had Her Mind Changed ft. Laura Studarus)

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Counting down our top music moments on Grey’s is no small task. (And certainly, we’re looking forward to the debates that will inevitably come.) But from a sea of moments that whisper to the song cues that make us want to scream — or just dance it out — here are a few of our favorite times when the music of Grey’s Anatomy took center stage.

(via The Best ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Musical Moments)

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Yakushima usually isn’t on the itinerary for first-time visitors to Japan. About as far as it gets from the country's tourist-congested golden triangle (that would be Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka), the small island doesn’t offer the cherry blossoms, temples, or cityscapes visitors to Japan have come to expect. But as I float in crystal blue waters just off Isso Beach, an idyllic swimming spot that I have practically to myself on a perfect autumn day, all I can think is—“Well, their loss.”

(Read more)

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“Your reason for wanting to be in or around water is valid,” writes Laura Studarus in her piece on the healing powers of water for Service95, in which she explores the restorative effects of wild swimming (for her, that began with a mermaiding class in Tahiti). Below, she shares recommendations for five idyllic spots around the world to bookmark for your next travels, so you can immerse yourself in water and discover the benefits for yourself…

(via 5 Beautiful Spots For Wild Swimming & To Immerse Yourself In Water Around The World | Service95)

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When I first decided to take a mermaiding class in Tahiti, I didn’t expect much other than a few photo ops in pretty costumes. I definitely didn’t think that I’d fall in love the second I jumped off the boat. It was my first time in the open ocean, and I immediately felt a surreal sense of calm. As someone who has suffered from lifelong chronic anxiety, it was a shift I couldn’t ignore; one that I immediately chased post-trip with a PADI Open Water Diver certification. This marked my first time in the water at the Channel Islands archipelago in Southern California (despite growing up nearby), and resulted in a general refusal to shut up to anyone who would listen about my new obsession.   

(via “I Felt A Surreal Sense Of Calm”: A Love Letter To The Healing Power Of Water | Service95)

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I knew I’d come back to Banff the first time I saw it. The Canadian Rockies evoke fairytale levels of wonder — there’s a reason it remains one of Canada’s top tourist destinations. From deep blue lakes to trails winding through alpine forests, there’s plenty to see and do in Banff. All the more reason to book luxurious lodgings when you’re forced to return inside for the evening.

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The Stanley Hotel was born with its founder Freelan Oscar Stanley near death. In 1903, the 54-year-old inventor of dry plate photography and the Stanley steam engine was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Because it was believed that fresh air would slow the disease—or, more realistically, provide a pleasant backdrop to his last few days—Freelan (affectionately known as FO) and his wife Flora were sent to Colorado—first to Denver, and then, on the suggestion of his doctor to the wilderness outpost, Estes Park.

(via The Stanley Hotel Is the Perfect Halloween Haunt - Paste Magazine)

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Season 20, episode two, of Grey’s Anatomy featured the doctors learning a thing or two about bedside manner. Their emotional ride that is an hour at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital came to a pivotal moment of discovery, backed by singer-songwriter Luke Beling’s emotional ballad “To Never See the Light.” But while the characters were all experiencing intensely personal journeys, for Beling, watching the show was a family affair.

(via Luke Beling’s ‘Grey’s’ Moment Was a Family Affair)

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It’s 8 a.m. on March 21, 2023, and I’m in a Tokyo-area izakaya along with 30 stressed out baseball fans. We wordlessly clutch our breakfast beers and try not to hyperventilate as Shohei Ohtani, playing for Samurai Japan, steps up the mound. As he strikes out the batter and wins the final game of the World Baseball Classic, the room erupts with a euphoria that borders on out-of-body bliss. After a moment of hesitation—after all, I don’t know any of these people—I run across the bar to high-five my fellow fans. Overwhelmed by the close contact with strangers, I spent the rest of the day cooling down at a baseball-themed Buddist shrine located in nearby Higashimatsuyama.

(via Baseball Games Are Better in Japan - Thrillist)

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When Justin Kamps graduated from college, he ran into the same problem a lot of young adults face — namely, how to follow your bliss while paying your bills. He had studied vocal performance as an undergrad (and still is an active participant in choirs across Los Angeles, an activity he describes as keeping “that performance part of my brain”), but the job market felt uncomfortably slow. That is, until a bit of research pointed him toward the idea of music supervision.

(via Meet the Man Behind the Music on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’)

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A post shared by Laura Studarus (@laura_studarus)

That time I got open water-certified at the most beautiful dive spot on earth. 

(via Laura Studarus (@laura_studarus) • Instagram photos and videos)