I would study another foreign language. Learning a new language opens ways to view our world from someone else’s perspective and always makes me feel as though the neurons in my brain are firing faster.

On my desk sits a much-loved (translation: much the worse for wear) toad carved of Cryptomeria wood that was a birthday gift from my third-grade crush. Boy and crush are long gone, but the toad, a traditional Japanese symbol of good luck, remains, wooden warts and all. What’s special is the way the natural wood grain forms the warts. My home office also boasts a real 6’ potted hibiscus tree.