Why It’s Great that My Parents Didn’t Listen to Me

School, for most kids, is already a drag. For even the most enthusiastic students, at some point, projects and tests and studying and homework become exhausting.

Quitting to Get Ahead

Confession: I think that I’m still in love with a sport that didn’t love me back.

Good Goes Bad

There’s a school district about thirty minutes from my hometown, a district widely known for its superb academics, strong public…

Learning to Listen: What are Your Parents’ Stories?

The Immigrant Experience

“Popping out of your mom is like real estate. It’s all about location, location, location,” quips comedian Hasan…

Are My Kids Bound to be Less Successful than Me?

This, not That

People often think of college as a time for exploration: taking classes never offered in high school, ranging from the ubiquitous (joke) of underwater basket-weaving to foreign languages or classics or math and science courses far advanced beyond the level that we achieved high school. Figuring out…

The Toyota

I’ve taken a whole lot of reflection away from my book. Most of my thoughts have been serious, revolving around the sacrifices and support…

The Value of an Okay

It’s not as if my parents ever made my sister or me feel that we were truly mediocre or average in what we did, but growing up, nearly everything that we did, completed, or achieved received a resounding “ok” stamp of approval (or complacent approval) from Mom and Dad.

Apples and Oranges

It’s easy to hear the word “immigration” and mentally conjure an image of what that represents. You might think of heavy accents that belie someone’s home country or varying academic, cultural, or societal trends. Maybe you think of people whom you know — friends, their parents, neighbors, or…