For the first time in my life, I’m not excited to go home for Christmas. And it feels so wrong and unsettling that I almost didn’t want to admit it. But here we are.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been deep in “giving season” mode, and I hate it. Not the people behind it, not the intention, but the system of it. Why should I give only now? Why am I supposed to redeem myself during these specific holidays? How deep are these Catholic morals ingrained in us that we’ve structured an entire economic quarter around guilt and redemption?
But let’s start where we all are right now: Black Friday and Cyber Monday just happened, and the holidays are lurking around the corner.
I get it. If you can save money on things you actually need, use Black Friday or Cyber Monday. I’m not here to shame anyone for being smart with their money.
My tip? Keep a running note on your phone of things you actually need throughout the year. Then, on Black Friday/Cyber Monday, check ONLY for those things. Don’t scroll. Don’t browse. Don’t get sucked into the “deals” that are just marketing tricks.
Here’s what I mean: if you’ve been needing a new winter coat for three months and it’s finally on sale, buy it. If you suddenly “need” a smart blender because it’s 40% off, you don’t need it.
The entire system is designed to make you feel like you’re missing out if you don’t consume. Resist that. You’re not missing out. You’re just not being an idiot.
I just spent a week celebrating Thanksgiving in Nashville, where my wonderful husband is from. I ran my first turkey trot (5-mile road race) and honestly? I LOVED it. The energy, the community, the ridiculousness of running before eating your body weight in potatoes— 10/10, would do again.
But being outside of NYC made something clear: American cities are designed for isolation, and it’s not an accident.
After World War II, the United States shaped its cities around car-dependent suburban living. Federal highway programs carved new expressways through working-class and minority neighborhoods, while public transit systems (lacking investment and overshadowed by rapid suburban growth) fell into decline. At the same time, zoning codes kept homes, shops, and workplaces strictly separated, making daily life increasingly impossible without a car.
This shift wasn’t just an accident of urban planning. Auto manufacturers, oil companies, and real estate developers all pushed for policies that supported highways, suburban expansion, and single-family housing. Their influence helped cement a model that encouraged homeownership, fuel consumption, and vehicle dependence.
The outcome was a built environment optimized for mobility and consumption, often at the expense of community, connection, and shared public space.
The result? Cities built for consumption, not connection.
You can’t walk to a café. You can’t bike to see friends. There’s no plaza, no town square, no third place where people naturally gather. Instead, you drive from your house to your workplace to the grocery store to the gym, isolated in a metal box the entire time.
Outside of NYC, I can feel the need for a “European lifestyle”, walkable cities, third places, and slower rhythms. But the infrastructure makes it nearly impossible. And watching communities struggle to develop because of this designed isolation is frustrating.
Everything here is work, workout, buy, eat, drink, scroll, watch TV. Individualism isn’t just encouraged, it’s engineered.
This is exactly why Black Friday and Cyber Monday are so successful here. When your city is built to keep you isolated, when community spaces don’t exist, when you’re driving everywhere alone, shopping becomes the default social activity. Consumption fills the void that connection should occupy.
Black Friday isn’t just a sale. It’s a release valve for a culture that’s been conditioned to express identity, status, and even gratitude through purchasing. The day after giving thanks, we’re told the most meaningful thing we can do is... buy more stuff. (which will be cheaper at a thrift store, once everyone is tired of it.)
And Cyber Monday? It’s even worse as it is built on the last minute. Just you, alone, scrolling, clicking, consuming.
These aren’t just shopping days; they’re economic strategies that reinforce individualism. They keep us focused on personal consumption instead of collective well-being. They train us to see ourselves as consumers first, community members second (if at all.)
There’s so much good here, too, obviously. I’m lucky to have incredible in-laws, and I truly enjoy spending time with them; it’s the closest thing to home I have here. But being in a less NYC environment made me realize how deeply car-dependency shapes everything.
These cities are built for cars, not people. And it’s baked into the physical structure of how people live. How they socialize (or don’t). How they move through space. How isolated they become without even realizing it.
I don’t have a solution. I’m just noticing it more lately, maybe because I’ve been displaced long enough, or maybe because I was lucky to be raised in a community-oriented environment, and anything different just feels fundamentally wrong.
But I do know this: we can’t shop our way into community.
As I approach 2026, everyone keeps asking me: “What are your travel plans?”
QUICK TIP: Please don’t ask me that. (And please, if you want to talk about veganism, great, but stop bringing it up every time we are eating or criticizing my food.)
I mean it. I know it comes from a good place, but that’s not the point of my existence. Let’s stop treating travel and exoticism as the main reason to exist. Let’s stop measuring our lives by how many stamps are in our passports or how “well-traveled” we can claim to be.
Instead, ask me:
Who am I meeting in 2026?
What am I learning?
Who am I prioritizing this year?
Am I trying a new sport?
Am I working on a new creative project?
Travel might be part of that, but it shouldn’t be the whole story.
If you live in NYC, enroll in the NYC Trash Academy NOW. I’m not kidding, it changed my life in this city. It’s a real way for the city to get you involved in the waste system, and I LOVE WASTE.
We all need to know more about waste. How much do you think you waste? Do you actually know? Most people don’t.
This program will teach you how the entire system works, what happens to your trash, where it goes, how recycling actually functions (spoiler: it’s not what you think), and how composting is finally being rolled out citywide.
It’s free. It’s fascinating.
I’m curious: what would some sustainable, meaningful goals look like for 2026? Not “lose 10 pounds” or “travel more” or whatever the algorithm is pushing this year.
What about:
Less waste (start small, one category at a time)
Less food waste (meal planning, using leftovers, composting)
More awareness of what we use daily (track it for a week, see what you learn)
Less buying (the “buy nothing” challenge, can you go a month?)
More community (join a Buy Nothing group on Facebook, attend a repair café, talk to your neighbors, join Climate Cafe NYC, attend a Frabrik event)
I want goals that make me feel more grounded and intentional, not just more productive or more impressive on social media (hey, I am guilty of it too!)
What are yours? I’d genuinely love to know.
Here’s mine, for now:
Do not buy more than 5 new things this year
Reduce my paper waste and learn how to make paper and papier mache
Be a community-builder!
Do strength training weekly and maintain my running (I have been running weekly for 5 years!)
Get better at French
Build a creative corner in our house
Read at least 30 books this year
Finish 2 scripts I have lying around
Rewrite a novel I wrote when I was 18
Make sure I keep putting this newsletter out every month
Work on enjoying food and cooking without guilt (once and for all)
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
This book wrecked me in the best way. It’s about cultural differences, depression, change, and what it means to feel unsettled. If you’re heading into 2026 feeling unmoored, this book will hold space for that.
The Library of New Beginnings by Michiko Aoyama
Amazing stories about how to change your life. A great read to go into 2026 with intention and hope.
Deaf President Now
A documentary about the 1988 student protests at Gallaudet University that led to the appointment of the school’s first deaf president. It’s about activism, representation, and fighting for what you deserve. But it is told in such an engaging way. A documentary to make non-documentary lovers love documentaries.
I Swear
A deeply moving film about Tourette’s that will make you think about language, identity, and what it means to truly be heard. Perfect for this reflective end-of-year mood.
(And yes, I’ll still be watching Harry Potter. We contain multitudes.)
@sustainablesabs - Real talk about sustainability without the perfectionism. She keeps it honest and practical.
@lagloriavegana - Spanish vegan content creator who makes plant-based cooking feel accessible, cultural, and joyful (not restrictive).
@theveganguiri - Another amazing creator sharing vegan recipes rooted in our culture, though he is Scottish, but could be as from Sevilla as me, and truly shares the best vegan versions of any Spanish dish.
@fromscratchwithbob - Making things from scratch in a way that feels doable, not overwhelming. Great for anyone wanting to reduce packaging waste.
@climabar - Climate content that doesn’t send you spiraling. Smart, grounded, and actually helpful. (Great for practicing your Spanish while learning about climate and sustainability.)
If you have other accounts that keep you informed without the eco-anxiety doom spiral, send them my way!
As some of you know, I work with the HubSpot LATAM YouTube channel. You’ll start seeing me pop up there on some shorts. If you’re curious about content strategy, marketing, or just want to make fun of me, subscribe and keep an eye out!
Pick ONE thing from this list and commit to it for the month:
Track your waste for one week. Everything. See what you learn.
Don’t buy anything new (except food and true necessities).
Join a Buy Nothing group and participate, give something away, or ask for something you need.
Write down what you want 2026 to be about, not where you’ll go, but who you’ll be and who you’ll prioritize.
Let me know which one you pick. I’ll be doing #4.
Monday, December 1 – How to Have Better Conversations
Workshop taught by writer and journalist Keshia Hannam on how to read a room and ask better questions; 5:45–7:30 pm
$26–$41
Lifeshop, 199 N 8th St (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
December 6 – E-Waste & Textile Collection
Park Slope (416 7th Avenue, Brooklyn) 10 am-2 pm
Willowbrook College of Staten Island (2800 Victory Boulevard) 11 am-3 pm
Free electronics and textile recycling for NYC residents. Clear out your old tech before the new year!
December 11 – Sip & Spark Pre-Market Event
KCBC Brewery
5-minute lightning talks from NYC changemakers reimagining a sustainable future. $10 donation supports free sustainability programming in NYC.
December 12 – Sustainable Holiday Night Market
Brooklyn Roots Collective, hosted by Zero Waste NYC
Shop vintage, secondhand, and local sustainable brands. Music, drinks, snacks, and a zero-waste gift wrapping station! Reserve your free spot on Eventbrite.
Saturday, December 13 – Mindfulness in the Noguchi Museum Galleries
Guided meditation and mindfulness exercise in the Noguchi Museum before it’s open to the public; 10–11:30 am
$16 (includes museum admission)
The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, 9-01 33rd Rd (Long Island City, Queens)
Saturday, December 13 – Heydoh’s Single Origin Soy Sauce Sampling
Free public sampling of Heydoh’s soy sauce from Taiwan in a Chinese American department store; 3–5 pm
Free
Pearl River Mart, 452 Broadway (SoHo, Manhattan)
Tuesday, December 16 – Death Cafe
Informal, group-directed discussion of death to increase “awareness of death to help people make the most of their lives”; 6:30–8 pm
Free
Green-Wood Cemetery, Modern Chapel, 500 25th St (Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn)
Monthly (First Sunday) – Repair Café El Barrio
El Barrio Artspace (215 East 99th Street) 11 am-2 pm
Bring broken items (lamps, coffee makers, vacuums, clothing, electronics) and learn to fix them side-by-side with volunteer experts. Donation-based. Contact them with a photo of what you want to repair!
Before Year-End – Enroll in NYC Trash Academy!
I’m serious about this one; it changed how I see the city. Learn how the waste system actually works, where your trash goes, and how to be part of the solution. It’s free and fascinating. Sign up here.
Ongoing – NYC Curbside Composting
Now available citywide! Check if your building is enrolled on DSNY’s website.
Time still feels weird. The holidays feel stressful. I’m not sure where I’ll be or who I’ll be by the time 2026 actually arrives.
But I know I don’t want to spend it performing excitement I don’t feel, buying things I don’t need, or measuring my worth by how far I’ve traveled.
See you on the other side,
Lusi
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