family Tag

Family. Six letters, three syllables. We all have it in some way, shape, or form. Some people say it’s the people who are there from birth until death do you part, amen, forever. Some people say it’s the people who support you and love you. Both sets of people are right, of course, but the fact is that your family isn’t just what they have in mind– that the group of people who buy birthday cakes and hang your picture on their wall don’t have to be the people whoRead More

I never thought I would be exchanging battle stories with my dad when it comes to the War of Love. He’s probably thinking the exact same thing. Not that it’s brag worthy, but my dad was going out on more dates than me at one point. We never expected to be in this situation, but after losing my mom to cancer over two years ago, we find dating to be a normal topic of discussion now. Sometimes it’s hilarious and other times it’s just weird. For better or for worse,Read More

Every holiday season brings something new, and this year brought for me some observations. This being my first holiday season an appetizer contributing adult, I noticed things I had never considered in my many years as nothing more than a young gift receiver.   1. Each day closer to Christmas and New Years everyone’s driving gets worse. Everyone is desperate to finish shopping and beginning to lose their minds from all of the contact with distant relatives.   2. After December 20th, don’t even try surviving the mall. If DecemberRead More

We can’t stop, and we won’t stop—Well, you should stop. New Year resolutions are great—if you’re the type of person who is so self-disciplined that you can actually follow through with your promises for longer than one week—aka, you’re probably not human. So, as imperfect humans, we are typically more prone to listen when we are told no, don’t, STOP. The negative is always more powerful, and I’m going to put that to the test.   15 Stop-It’s for 2014 Stop spending more on material goods than on experiences. It’s greatRead More

Dear Mommy,   I’m sorry I don’t write more often, but it’s difficult to put a pen to paper or tap the keys on my laptop at times when I think of you. It’s almost Christmas and that was always your favorite holiday. You decorated the house the day after Halloween before disregarding Thanksgiving went mainstream. You were always ahead of the trends. This will be the third Christmas without you, but the first one that I’ll say out loud, “Mommy’s not coming back.”   I thought about you today.Read More

The holiday season is here, and, for many of us, that means going home to the places and the people that have been watching us grow up. Returning home means running into everyone I never wanted to see again at one of the five bars in my hometown and having to relearn how to drive a car after months of walking and taking the subway. It means getting to eat my mom’s bombass breakfasts and snuggle with my cat whenever he lets me. It means spending every second with myRead More

The holiday season is here. You must be prepared for an abundance of family time, rude comments from grandma, and duets with your little sister (as well as the annoyed glances from anyone in close proximity). Part of growing up means you get to get wasted during family time, so master these recipes, share with the family, and have a holly, jolly Christmas.   1. Fire and Ice 1 oz Rumple Minze. 1 oz FireBall. You’ll probably make a follow up sound similar to those in minty gum commercials.    Read More

Post-friendsgiving and pre-ginger-ale ordering at a bar because the fear of vomiting after the many mixes and matches of food and drinks was real, a friend inquired about my plans to go home for both holidays. “You’re going home for Thanksgiving and Christmas?” He asked, surprised at the repeated venture, requiring an airline flight or ten hour car ride a matter of weeks away from one another. I gushed to him about how significant the holidays were to me, my brother was extremely sick a couple years ago and the morbid fearRead More

Sometime after Halloween, when the radio started drowning in Christmas music and Starbucks reintroduced their eggnog latte, a ball of dread started to grow in my gut.  And it continues to grow as big as the mall Santa’s beer belly until I will be faced with the very event that inspires this trepidation: Thanksgiving dinner.  Where relatives abound and the most burning hunger is not for turkey, but for details of my personal life.  I am thankful for the wine that will help me survive their  predictable questions.  It mightRead More

I may not have you yet, and am not in a position to have you this year or even the next. But I do know that I will love you when I do.  I envision us during the holiday season, my son playing with action figures by the fireplace, my daughter playing with a new doll. And if it is my daughter playing with action figures, and my son cradling a new doll, I know I will be just as happy.  Although I can’t guarantee exactly how your lives willRead More

We all have that one Aunt or Grandparent that asks too many questions about your life at Thanksgiving dinner, and frankly, you don’t have the energy or care to answer them. It is annoying; it is a waste of breath; and you are most likely just going to be yelled at for whatever answer you give them, even if you’re telling them something good. You’re never right and they’re never wrong. Here are the generic, irritating and useless questions I’m sure we all have received at least once:   1.Read More

Regardless of which college you attend, these are 16 must-do’s to put on your bucketlist. College is called the best four years of our lives for a reason—but it’s also such a short time we must take advantage of. Not only are the academic opportunities plentiful, but the callings for adventure are, as well. With greater independence and freedom, this is our chance to explore beyond our comfort zones and discover every facet of ourselves. Good luck!   1. Attend a sporting event Regardless of whether your school is aRead More

There is no sensation quite like the anticipation of imminent departure. I remember my final week at home before returning to college, each morning awaking next to friends I cared about deeply. It would be 7am, the sunlight freckled across our statuesque faces—our arms in legs entangled in a silent refusal to move and an unspoken plea to stay. Then, the sudden jolt of our rainforest alarms, the slam on the 15-minute snooze. The lethargic, reluctant roll over to friends on each side—groggily, but oh, so acutely, understanding that ourRead More

“Tyrant” is an explosive political drama that takes place not in the comfy confines of our own country, but the war-ravaged Middle East. The whole thing centers on an All-American family lead by Bassam “Barry” Al-Fayeed, a Pediatrician, returning to the nation of his birth after a self-imposed 20-year exile. He must face his father, a ruthless Dictator of this Middle Eastern nation, and the rest of his ruthless family members as he fights the demons of his past. This epic tale is one of those rare chances to witness aRead More

Ever since blowing eighteen candles out on a perfectly frosted cake, we’ve all been in the limbo that is emerging adulthood. We may proudly parade around calling ourselves “adults,” when really, we are still discovering what adulthood truly entails. As we soon observe, being an adult means at heart, not in physicality. Sure, we may legally be over the age of eighteen and eligible to vote, but it takes a while for the mentality and maturity of to solidify firmly. These milestones of adulthood don’t all happen overnight. Ultimately, beingRead More