How Smiling Helps Me in Life

“Dinner is ready!” Every Sunday a member of our family takes a turn choosing what we’re having for dinner, and today was my turn. My mother had prepared all of my favorite food, from foie gras to sea urchin sushi to satay. As we [...]

He never rang the doorbell, never knocked, just walked right in. Jackson never needed to knock; he was just “family.” He eats his meals with us, watches sports with us, and if it weren’t for the human eye, you’d think he was one [...]

There was one playground not too far from my grandparents' apartment in Cairo (the summer home of my childhood) where I wasn't treated like the quirky, abnormal kid that I was used to being. It wasn't your ideal picture of [...]

Throughout my short lifetime of difficulties and discouragements, education has been the one constant and one motivation that helped me stay positive. When my life seemed to be falling apart, I knew I could get on the bus, go to [...]

With my parents beside me, I stepped through the door and onto the flight deck of the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier. Immediately, I was surrounded. Military aircraft from all through history glistened in the sunshine, just [...]

As a blonde cheerleader, I've chuckled to myself when instructors who don't yet know me refrain from calling on me the first week of class. I guess the uniform and pom-poms give them a subconscious stereotype that I will be [...]