Who Do You Become When You Drink? I have always found it interesting how differently people behave once alcohol enters the picture. Some people become happier, louder, friendlier, and suddenly want to talk to everybody in the room. Others become sad and start talking about things they have not mentioned in years. Some become angry,
What Alcohol Can Reveal About the Parts of Us We Hide Read More »
The Question Is Bigger Than It Sounds When somebody asks whether people want children more than they want marriage, I understand why the question feels timely. Marriage no longer carries the same automatic expectation it once did in American life. More people delay marriage, avoid it, divorce, remarry, co-parent, or build families outside the old
Marriage, Children, and What People Really Want From Family Read More »
We Are Living in the Age of the Image We live in a time when somebody can spend money to look successful without actually being financially secure. People can rent luxury cars, borrow designer clothes, pose inside somebody else’s mansion, and photograph themselves in places they could never afford to live. Somebody can take fifty
Real Recognizes Real in a World Built for Appearances Read More »
What Is the Purpose of a Relationship? Somebody once asked a question that sounds simple but gets deeper the longer I sit with it: what am I supposed to get out of being in a relationship? I understand why somebody would ask that, especially if relationships have brought more confusion than comfort. A healthy relationship
Love Is Not Supposed to Cost Me Myself Read More »
Everybody Does Not Need My Whole Story One lesson life has taught me is that everybody I meet does not automatically deserve access to my entire history. When I enter a new environment, I do not have to walk through the door carrying my résumé, accomplishments, disappointments, family business, and old wounds in my hands.
Learning to Move With Wisdom Without Losing Myself Read More »
The Silence After Love There is a quote that stayed with me: “There is nothing louder than the silence between two people who loved each other deeply but had to walk away.” I understand that kind of silence because it is not really empty at all. It can be filled with memories, unanswered questions, unfinished
When Love Is Real but Still Not Enough Read More »
The Need to Be Understood One of the hardest lessons I have had to learn is that everybody is not going to understand my heart. I can explain my intentions carefully, choose my words wisely, and still have somebody walk away believing something about me that simply is not true. That can be frustrating because
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Ambition Is Not the Problem I have learned that ambition by itself is not a bad thing. We need ambitious people because somebody has to dream bigger, reach farther, and imagine what has not been built yet. Ambition can push a person out of comfort and into growth. It can turn an ordinary employee into
When Ambition Outruns Ability Read More »
When a Compliment Is Not Really a Compliment I have learned that every compliment is not necessarily meant to make you feel good. Some compliments come wrapped in pretty paper, but once you open them, there is an insult sitting inside. We call those backhanded compliments because they sound positive at first while quietly taking
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The Assumptions We Make About Women Who Serve I have heard people make assumptions about women who served in the military, especially when the conversation turns to dating and relationships. Some men immediately wonder whether a woman who spent years around mostly men must have been sexually involved with a lot of them. That stereotype
Military Service Does Not Make You Better Than Anybody Else Read More »