Author: Contributor to The Sober Curator

Classy Problems is a daily post of thinking in motion by Dan T. Rogers. Each post stands alone as a thought-provoking piece, yet together, they create a puzzle of ideas. They invite you to see things from a different angle, rethink what you thought you knew, and explore what’s beyond your current understanding. Classy has a membership feature! We have a growing collection of Classy’s daily emails, discussion recordings, and a dictionary of concepts. Free for now. Maybe paid later. Always thoughtful. JOIN US to explore the collection for a deeper understanding of the ideas we use to navigate life and the truth as we perceive…

I hit seven years of sobriety on February 10, 2025. When I got sober, one of the first things I put on my bucket list was to get to NYC and witness the fashion world in real life. I wanted to feel the pulse of the city, to be where Halston, Studio 54 and all the great misfit creatives once came alive. I didn’t know how or when, but I knew I wanted to be in the room where style and self-expression weren’t just accepted — they were worshipped. Now, every February — on my soberversary — I go to…

“You get sober and then life gets real weird, real fast.” — Alysse Bryson If you’ve ever worried that the party ends when the drinking stops—buckle up. Because Episode 28 of The Killjoy After Party is here to blow that myth wide open. Rude and Goody were joined by the one and only Alysse Bryson, a trailblazing force in the sobriety space and the powerhouse behind The Sober Curator, a lifestyle site that proves sober doesn’t mean boring—it means boldly, beautifully, and hilariously alive. In an episode full of laughs (our cheeks actually hurt), real talk, and musical mischief, we…

I’ll never forget the first time I met Sarah Morgando. We were two nurses, walking parallel paths. Both starting our coaching practices around the same time. Board-certified. Seasoned. And no strangers to holding space for the hard, messy, deeply human stuff. But what struck me immediately about Sarah wasn’t just her clinical knowledge or calm presence — it was the way she carried her story. Gracefully. Bravely. And with a kind of purpose that makes you sit up a little straighter and listen a little harder. Sarah’s sister, Jenny, died after a long battle with addiction — one complicated by…

It does happen to the best of us. That 2021 product tutorial? Cut too close. That behind-the-scenes photo shoot for your campaign? All the action was chopped out of frame. And don’t even begin with the TikToks created before you knew what “safe zones” were. But what if you never had to leave that old content in the dust? For sober content creators, who are often a team of one or building their message with limited resources, every piece of content counts. And let’s be honest, cleaning up old content should be easier than writing out your fourth step inventory…

Classy Problems is a daily post of thinking in motion by Dan T. Rogers. Each post stands alone as a thought-provoking piece, yet together, they create a puzzle of ideas. They invite you to see things from a different angle, rethink what you thought you knew, and explore what’s beyond your current understanding. Classy has a membership feature! We have a growing collection of Classy’s daily emails, discussion recordings, and a dictionary of concepts. Free for now. Maybe paid later. Always thoughtful. JOIN US to explore the collection for a deeper understanding of the ideas we use to navigate life and the truth as we perceive…

In Episode 9 of You’ve Been Selected, I sit down with Alysse Bryson, founder of The Sober Curator, a BuzzFeed-style online magazine for the sober-curious and alcohol-free crowd. Spoiler alert: we talk fashion, recovery and the kind of friendship that starts with saying yes to something you have no clue how to do.  Alysse shares the backstory of how The Sober Curator came to life (hint: it involved a whole lot of passion and probably caffeine), and how I somehow ended up writing a fashion column — without any formal fashion experience but plenty of bold opinions and dopamine outfits. …

Travel about two hours northeast of the Salton Sea, and you’ll find yourself in one of the most quietly magical corners of California: Joshua Tree National Park. It’s where time slows down, the sunsets light up the desert sky in a wash of orange and lavender, and yes — there are Joshua trees as far as the eye can see. Joshua Tree has a little something for everyone. It’s just under an hour from Palm Springs, nestled along the legendary I-10. Fair warning, though — this area has a wild side. People have been known to go missing out here,…

The first time I stole, I was six. I stuffed a Milky Way down the leg of my corduroy bell-bottoms. It slid down my pants onto the pavement outside the store. My stepmom made me bring it back to the cashier. At home, I wasn’t allowed candy, but I liked it, I wanted it and I stole more. M&M’s, malt balls, Swedish Fish. In second grade, I stole cotton candy and strawberry Bonne Belle Lip Smackers. I would come to school in gold-threaded saris that my dad brought me back from India, and the kids would make fun of me. But…

Unresolved issues from the past can weigh you down and prevent you from achieving your true potential. This is especially true when it comes to rifts in relationships with people you have deeply cared about, like a parent, sibling, romantic partner, or close friend. Ultimately, walking away is easy. But it doesn’t necessarily allow you to move forward. Your mistakes can consume you with guilt, sadness, and shame for years. They can manifest in numerous ways (from anxiety and withdrawal to an inability to form healthy relationships and, sometimes, even physical health issues). To avoid all these, it is important…

Classy Problems is a daily post of thinking in motion by Dan T. Rogers. Each post stands alone as a thought-provoking piece, yet together, they create a puzzle of ideas. They invite you to see things from a different angle, rethink what you thought you knew, and explore what’s beyond your current understanding. Classy has a membership feature! We have a growing collection of Classy’s daily emails, discussion recordings, and a dictionary of concepts. Free for now. Maybe paid later. Always thoughtful. JOIN US to explore the collection for a deeper understanding of the ideas we use to navigate life and the truth as we perceive…

Visiting the “Superfine Tailoring and Dandy Style” exhibit at The Met was nothing short of a masterclass in style, artistry and cultural significance. Walking through the exhibit, I was struck by the sheer range of influences on display, from impeccably tailored suits to streetwear, from Muhammad Ali’s iconic boxing shorts to the regal grandeur of Sunday church style. It was a celebration of fashion in all its forms, but more importantly, it was a celebration of Black artists and designers who have shaped this industry, often without receiving their due credit. In a time when DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion)…

I read “Soberful” by Veronica Valli on a flight to NYC once, and I underlined page after page like I was cramming for a final. I didn’t need to scroll her bio or stalk her Instagram to know she was legit — her words hit hard because they were true. So when I had the chance to sit down with her for an episode of You’ve Been Selected, I knew exactly what I wanted to talk about: the wild, weird and often wonderful world of sober social media. Let’s be real: Instagram is loud. And when it comes to sobriety,…

Museums are supposed to preserve the past—but what happens when the past doesn’t want to stay quiet? Haunted museums don’t just collect—they contain. They don’t display—they dare. Within these cursed corridors are relics that whisper, paintings that blink, and artifacts that refuse to be understood. With Dreamina’s AI image generator, you’re not just building a museum—you’re conjuring one. Let’s explore what it means to design for the unseen, the unliving, and the unbelievably haunted. Rooms that remember you A few of the exhibits can do without tour guides—they remember their visitors. In ghost museums, architecture is not a container—it’s a…

Classy Problems is a daily post of thinking in motion by Dan T. Rogers. Each post stands alone as a thought-provoking piece, yet together, they create a puzzle of ideas. They invite you to see things from a different angle, rethink what you thought you knew, and explore what’s beyond your current understanding. Classy has a membership feature! We have a growing collection of Classy’s daily emails, discussion recordings, and a dictionary of concepts. Free for now. Maybe paid later. Always thoughtful. JOIN US to explore the collection for a deeper understanding of the ideas we use to navigate life and the truth as we perceive…

My love, My words escape me, like elusive phantoms slipping through trembling fingers. The sickness has come for me again, its suffocating grip robbing me of my voice. I can barely manage to speak, let alone properly convey the depths of what you mean to me. These are the moments when words falter, when the shadows within become too dense, too overwhelming, and expression feels like an insurmountable mountain to climb. I had hoped to share my day with you, not just as a recounting of hours and minutes, but as an open window into the innermost workings of my…

NEW NOTIFICATION. SOMEONE LIKES YOU. You feel a rush and begin to wonder, ‘Will this be the one?’ Or, ‘Maybe we will have a real connection?’ You open the app, and that hit of dopamine is balanced out with a dose of reality. Disappointment is a fleeting feeling before you are onto the next one… and then the next one… and then the next one. My recovery looks different from my colleagues’ here at The Sober Curator. I can’t exactly pour my addiction down the drain or toss it away. For the past twelve years, I have lived with the shame and…

Spring, springin, springan to leap, to jump, to burst forth, Bursting forth light white pink flowers from tree’s branches, The first greeting as nature wakes from winter’s slumber. Flower, flur, floer, flowe, nestled next to nascent green leaves, Small pink red flowers hang like raspberries, ornaments for trees that’ve endured bare branches against cold wind chill. “See me thrive in April.” The trees whisper, “We’ve survived winter.” Blossoming time, height of life, glory and prosperity, the cherry blossoms fall to the ground, brief twinkling moment of efflorescence now past. Daffodil, asphodel, narcissus Rain floods from the sky, dousing the Earth, …

Sober content creators are leading a powerful movement—redefining what connection, resilience, and joy look like in recovery. Whether you’re sharing your story, offering tools for sober living, or building a digital recovery community, the quality of your video content matters now more than ever. Gone are the days when raw uploads and basic edits could cut through the noise. Today’s audiences expect clean visuals, compelling stories, and thoughtful delivery. That’s where CapCut Web’s AI video maker comes in—an intuitive, powerful, and fast platform that helps creators like you bring your sober message to life, without requiring advanced editing skills. A…

Classy Problems is a daily post of thinking in motion by Dan T. Rogers. Each post stands alone as a thought-provoking piece, yet together, they create a puzzle of ideas. They invite you to see things from a different angle, rethink what you thought you knew, and explore what’s beyond your current understanding. A Lever for Design When proximity is intentional, occurrence becomes a lever for design. What we call aligning up. We don’t align to control what happens. We align to participate with what is already happening. Being a part of something is way cooler than being apart from something. What…

My addiction was a drunken, cocaine-fueled weekend that stretched across years, a house party with no music left and no one real enough stay. It was sharing beds with strangers That was mistaken for connection. It was pushing away the ones who tried to reach me through the fog. It was my ego on the throne and my spirit bound, gagged by denial. Addiction didn’t want love it wanted me alone. It drank all the liquor the night before, knowing I’d need it in the morning. Leaving me dry-mouthed, shaking, sick. I hadn’t even opened my eyes, and I was…

All my life, I’ve felt haunted. Haunted by ancestors past, whose abuse would have devastating effects for generations. The two people responsible for raising me would each be plagued by their respective familial traumas— shadowed by the demons of addiction and mental illness for their— and my— entire life. I stood in my mother’s house, the house I grew up in, and I shivered. For the second time in five years, I was confronting the not-so-friendly ghosts of my childhood; complex memories wafted in and out of every dusty nook and cranny. An only child, now essentially an orphan (one…

Classy Problems is a daily post of thinking in motion by Dan T. Rogers. Each post stands alone as a thought-provoking piece, yet together, they create a puzzle of ideas. They invite you to see things from a different angle, rethink what you thought you knew, and explore what’s beyond your current understanding. How Precious We define precious as the uniqueness of convenience. The uniqueness over-inflates the importance of a perceived difference. Convenience minimizes the greater quantity of sameness. Preciousness magnifies detail and distinction without acknowledging a larger context or environment that surrounds it. It distracts in its attention to what is…

A cocktease pours a glass of waterCocktail he would call this drinkSipped from a tale too tallthat the man himself couldn’t trick his ACCTraced out the name of a long lost lovein the frost ‘neath the rim where his lips would meetBubbles from bastardsPhantom fizzforced his beguiled cheeks to freezeNeon lights by the bar stayed sharplike an image fixed in post for screensNot a familiar glimpse—that alone pulled the rug from beneath his feetJukebox screams Sweet Carolinewith a bah bah bahHe’s counting sheepFire sparks in a lonely cornerSprinklers drench his cotton sheetsTaking coverhe dips downand rests his temple upon a…

“Why do I still feel like crap even though I quit drinking?” If you’ve ever asked yourself that question in early sobriety, you’re not alone. Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) is one of the most misunderstood (and frustrating) parts of the recovery process. It’s not just about getting through the first few days or weeks without alcohol — it’s the lingering mental, emotional and physical symptoms that can show up months into sobriety. And if you don’t know what’s happening, it can feel like you’re doing something wrong. In Episode 7 of “You’ve Been Selected,” we dig into PAWS: what it…

“Recovery isn’t about fitting into someone else’s mold — it’s about finding what sets you free.” In Episode 6 of “You’ve Been Selected,” I break down my personal recovery framework — one that’s built on experience, humor and the hard-won lessons of sobriety. I call it the Faucets of Freedom, and it’s not some secret cure or magic trick. There’s no shortcut to sobriety — just a willingness to show up and do the work. WHAC is simply an acronym I put together to highlight key components that have helped me along the way. At its core, WHAC stands for…

My mind is a vortex, but I am not my mind. Poetry is a desperate expression trying to meet its counterpart in another soul. I don’t think my mind works right. I think it is supposed to work the way most other brains do. I don’t know if most other brains work right. I am overworked and overwhelmed and it is all my fault. My body is breaking down and it’s all my fault. My mind is breaking down and it’s all my fault. I must remind myself that I am not my mind. I am a fucking poet. I…

“Recovery isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s a messy, beautiful, deeply personal journey.” When I first got sober, I needed structure. I needed something to hold onto, a place to go, people who understood. AA saved my life. It gave me a foundation when I had nothing else. Sitting in those rooms, I learned about surrender, honesty and the power of shared experience.  But as I started to rebuild my life, I got curious. My background in nursing and my natural love of research made me start digging deeper. I wanted to understand addiction — not just from a personal standpoint, but from…

Where is the Salton Sea?  Head southwest from Slab City, then curve northwest, and you’ll find yourself driving alongside one of California’s most surreal landscapes — the Salton Sea. It’s bigger than you’d expect, stretching for miles with an eerie, otherworldly beauty. The winds whip across the desert, sometimes kicking up dust devils that dance across the dry lakebed.   The shoreline is littered with skeletal fish remains and feels forgotten yet strangely alive. There are some intriguing rumors that the Salton Sea has served as a “body dump.” The chemicals are so toxic that they could destroy any evidence; however,…

Welcome to the Classy Problems weekly mash-up for Monday, March 24, 2025 – Sunday, March 30, 2025 Classy Problems is a daily post of thinking in motion by Dan T. Rogers. Each post stands alone as a thought-provoking piece, yet together, they create a puzzle of ideas. They invite you to see things from a different angle, rethink what you thought you knew, and explore what’s beyond your current understanding. Locate Yourself Classy Problems is not just a collection of concepts. It’s a map — reference to locate yourself inside our semiotic. You don’t need to consume the whole thing, just find…