Michael Laffoon has a vivid memory of the day he decided to piece his life back together. “I literally woke up in my van(小货车)and I thought . I can’t do this anymore because I’m going to die,’” he says. “It was just a strong feeling that I had come to the end of a chapter. ”

For eight years, the Santa Cruz, California resident drifted in and out of homelessness because of a serious drug addiction. It was a frustrating, impossible lifestyle. In 2009, Laffoon learned about Homeless Garden Project at a kitchen where he was volunteering. The not-for-profit aims to lift people living on the streets of Santa Cruz out of homelessness through farming. The end goal is that they will leave the farm with stable housing and a full-time job.

After a year and a half of being in the program, Laffoon was able to secure employment and stable housing. He later obtained a degree in horticulture(园艺学). “It was the first step back into normal society-the first open door,” he says.

Trainees are employed to grow fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs on the farm. They get paid a wage, are given basic job skills training and are matched with a social worker to work through specific goals. The project has helped close to 1,000 people. Over the past five years, 96 percent of graduates have obtained jobs or stable income and 86 percent have found housing.

The project’s staffers say that the project has always had a strong element of community, which is central to the healing process of its trainees, as they often feel like they’ve lost their sense of belonging. Laffoon says that while he was homeless, he spent a lot of his time “trying to be invisible” and felt secluded from the rest of society. The project gave him meaningful work and a sense of belonging, which helped him get back on his feet.

Ella Fleming, the project’s farm manager, has seen how growing food can have a life-changing and inspirational impact on trainees. “We provide a place where it’s safe, it’s nurturing, it’s healthy and there’s an exchange that happens,” she says. “When you’re caring for a plant to try to get it to grow, you’re also giving yourself some self-care to know that you can grow,”she says.

When people think of word innovators throughout history, male writers likely come to mind. Shakespeare is credited with inventing more than 1,700 words, including “bedroom”, “courtship” and “swagger”. Charles Dickens is said to have first used the words “butterfingers” and “doormat”, and Dr. Seuss reportedly came up with “nerd”.

But despite contributions from famous writers, historians say another group has an even greater impact on the development of language: teenage girls. Women lead up to 90 percent of linguistic (语言的) changes, as sociolinguist William Labov observed in the early 2000s. In fact, he wrote, women are often linguistically ahead of men “by a full generation”.

Now women are leading the charge online. Though Oxford University Press’2023 word of the year, “rizz”, meaning charm, was coined by a man, several runners-up, including “situationship” and “swiftie” were inspired or first used by women. The term “goblin mode”, which refers to lazy behavior, was Oxford’s 2022 word of the year and appears to have been first used by a woman on Twitter in 2009.

It’s often impossible to tell who first used new words. But whether or not young girls invent new phrases, they are more likely to be early adopters of the latest lingo (术语), says University of Toronto linguist Sali Tagliamonte, “They’re pushing changes forward.”

There are a handful of possible reasons why girls lead lexical (词汇的) innovation. According to Gretchen McCulloch, author of Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, women tend to be more socially aware. They have larger social circles and may be exposed to more language diversity. And because women tend to be caregivers, boys usually learn language from their mothers, whereas women and girls learn words from other women.

When did you last write a letter? Properly write one—by hand? In a digital world, sending a text or e-mail is far more convenient than using traditional mail. Well, some people claim that writing still has many benefits, so maybe it’s not time to throw away your ballpoint or fountain pen yet.

These days, when people request things in writing, a typed, electronic document will be accepted. Doing this on a computer means it could be saved, edited, copied and sent via e-mail. But doing a handwritten document is unique: It requires planning and thought, and, as well as practising your handwriting, it helps you to remember spelling and punctuation (标点符号).

Some experts believe your brain benefits from using old-fashioned pen and paper. This is particularly related to students, because typing notes into a laptop is thought to lack the “tactile feedback (触觉反馈)” to the brain. They think taking notes by hand involves cognitive (认知的) engagement in summarising, paraphrasing, organizing, concept and vocabulary mapping. They also agree that handwriting may improve fine movement skills of your hands and fingers.

There are everyday benefits to using pen and paper too. Writing notes, shopping lists or messages on the back of an envelope can still be useful, quick and convenient. But putting pen to paper in a letter to a friend or loved one can probably have the most influence. Pen Pal writer Katherine Moller said, “In a world where it is so easy to get online to e-mail or send a fast text, it is so personal and so precious to know someone chooses to turn off the virtual world to spend some time with you.”

So, while digital skills remain important, don’t get rid of your pens and pencils yet—especially if your smartphone, table t or laptop runs out of power!