Back when I was in 10th grade, I was introduced to Kim Casali's Love Is comic strips. (If you've never seen one before, they're single-frame cartoon strips that originated from a series of love notes that New Zealand cartoonist Kim Casali drew for her future husband, Robert Casali.) I was introduced to her comic strips through the Los Angeles Times. Back in high school, I was an avid newspaper Sudoku player and one day, while playing, I decided to explore a section of the newspaper that I hardly ever touched - the Classified section. It was in that section that I met Kim's Love Is comic strips. From that day forward, I did my best to get my hands on a newspaper and when I did, I would eagerly make my way to the Classified section. There, usually on page 2, I would tear away that day's Love Is comic strip and add it to my collection. For about three years, I was able to obtain her comic strip almost each day. It wasn't until after high school that my collective habit began to fade as I didn't have much time to hunt down a newspaper in between my college courses. 

     Anyways, I mention this because this past weekend, while at my parent's house, I ran into my mini chest of Love Is. I was so glad I hadn't lost them and that they were still in fairly good condition. I think I must have sat in front of that chest for at least 30 minutes just looking at them all. And sitting there, looking at them, I realized why I enjoyed collecting them so much. Back in high school, if you were to ask me why I collected them, I would have probably said because I thought they were adorable. But now, after really thinking about the question, I would tell you that I collected them because they were (and still are) reminders of the many different faces and forms of love, that they're reminders of how simple acts of love can have enormous  effects on us, and that they're reminders of how love (in one form or another) is always around us. 

If you've already subscribed to the Good Newsletter that I mentioned in my Loop a few weeks ago, then you might have already seen this story in last week's Good email. (If you haven't yet subscribed, why are you waiting to get goodness in your inbox every Tuesday??) But if not, I think it's worth sharing.

Chance The Rapper has been my favorite new artist since Coloring Book came out last May. He's since cemented himself on my "favorite artists" list because of his humanitarian work - specifically in his hometown of Chicago.

Chance just announced a new way to honor America's most important workers with a new awards show, The Twilight Awards, specifically for the teachers, parents, principals and students who convey leadership in Chicago-area schools. The annual event will have all the celebrity clout of a Grammy's show, but with the added humanitarian aspect of acknowledging the heroes of our school systems who never get the praise they deserve.

In addition to announcing the new Twilight Awards, Chance also donated another round of $1 Million to Chicago-area public schools via his SocialWorks organization and talked about the expansion of his New Chance Fund, which supports arts and literature education.

People who use their platform, their success, and their influence to turn around and improve the lives of others are my absolute favorite types of people. It doesn't hurt that he can put together some sweet rhymes and dope beats, either 🤘️