Most people think that mindfulness, “the state of active, open attention on the present,” helps us increase our happiness and sense of well-being, while decreasing our depression, anxiety, and stress. Thousands of schools across the country teach mindfulness to their students. It’s a good thing, right, despite its appropriation of Buddhist meditation teachings? Not so, says San Francisco State professor Ronald Purser, author of McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality. Instead of helping us gain clarity, mindfulness turns us inward, isolated from others, teaching us to accept the status quo instead of fighting against injustice. Our scary, chaotic world may overwhelm us, Prof. Purser suggests, but creating a private “religion of the self” is not the solution.

Everything was fine when Hannah came out to her family as a trans woman. But when they wanted to reintroduce themself as Salem — nonbinary, gender fluid, gender expansive — they hesitated, fearing isolation from their family, while at the same time feeling disconnection with themself. More and more young people identify as neither male or female. This article poignantly explores the struggles that nonbinary people face in a society that demands we choose a side.

When Vivia Wampler was 2 years old, she fell, hit her head on the stairs, and suffered permanent brain damage that left her intellectually disabled. Now an adult, Vivia wants to raise a child but thinks she should practice being a mom first. For the past several years, Vivia has taken care of Emma, a Reborn doll that looks, at first glance, like a real infant. The experience has brought Vivia many of the joys of motherhood — alongside the sneers of passersby, the leeriness of family, and the judgments of the author.

Get ready for a wild ride. At the Green Meadow Waldorf School in Rockland County, New York, many rich white parents refused to vaccinate their children last year, wishing to “reduce the load” of foreign substances in their children’s bodies. One parent said, “I just go based on what I believe. We’re all seed of God. We’re all stardust. My instinct is a guiding force.” When the health department banned unvaccinated students from attending the school, parents became enraged and sued.

We scoffed at Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin, and the other rich parents who committed crimes (bribery! mail fraud! racketeering! conspiracy!) to get their kids into college. But maybe Operation Varsity Blues is just a small part of the real problem: that the college admissions process is rotten at its core.

Enough is enough, you say. It’s time to practice digital minimalism, once and for all. That’s why you’ve quit Facebook and Twitter — but not Instagram. (The photos are so alluring!) You’ve taken the bold step to leave your phone outside your bedroom. (But you’re sleepwalking in the middle of the night to check it.) And you’re no longer opening your email after 8 pm (except to read The Highlighter, of course). If this is you, good job: Tristan Harris, creator of the Time Well Spent movement, who is on a mission to “reverse human downgrading,” is very proud of you. Not only will you have more time to spend with your friends and family, but you’ll also have the language to stop technology from destroying free will and wrecking democracy.

You’ve read all the dismal statistics. As a country, we’re not well. Whether it’s heart disease or obesity or high blood pressure or depression or anxiety or cancer or dementia, we’re ill. And we’re not feeling any better, no matter how many pills we take. But don’t worry, this article is a hopeful one. Many doctors are skipping the traditional approach and prescribing nature instead, and so far, the data is looking good. Preliminary research suggests that going outside — looking at trees, listening to birds, and smelling flowers — activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which reduces stress, inflammation, and disease.

Ninth grader Jaelyn had straw-blond hair and turquoise eyes, believed in God, and was new to Santa Fe High School, located in a suburb of Houston. Long homeschooled, she had told her parents that God had “put it on her heart” to branch out and meet new people. Eleventh grader Sabika, who had black hair and mahogany eyes, believed in Allah, and also was new to Santa Fe. An exchange student from Pakistan, she had told her parents that she wanted be like Malala Yousafzai and have an impact on the world. This is the story of Jaelyn and Sabika’s friendship, the hope of young people, and the power of human connection across difference. You’ll cry at the end, no doubt, but please don’t let that deter you from reading this extraordinary article, so plainly and beautifully written.