When I first stepped foot onto the University of Texas as a sophomore, I hated it. It's too big, I thought. I'll get swallowed up in a school of that size. There are too many strange people here, I thought....

It's official. I've made my decision. I have played trombone in band for six years, about a third of my life. My best friends are in band. I found a family within the trombone section. Those boys are...

Welcome to a peek into my personal life. This is the Daily Struggles edition, as I like to call it. Now we all deal with trials every day and I would just like to share a few of mine that illustrate a...

Okay, I confess. I am a typical white girl. I have remained faithful to the same pair of dark brown Ugg boots since the sixth grade. My yoga pants are folded neatly inside the drawer of my dresser, ready...

As the news I just received was swirling through my head, I pushed open the door and re-entered the waiting room. I glanced around at the small children who had masks over their mouths and no hair. Soon...

“Those of you starting your senior year of high school, enjoy it. In a year, you'll be saying bye to your best friends. Make your time count.” This anonymous nugget of wisdom is so true and so compelling...

  Once I acknowledged their presence, I could feel them feeding on my desires for acceptance like a group of ravenous parasites. There was no escape. They were on billboards. They were on television....

Recently, I watched the most soul-crushing commercial I have ever seen. A father and a son sit at their kitchen table, each eating a pudding cup. The father tells the boy that he really loves pudding....

  It’s 3:17 a.m. and all you can think about is death. You haven’t even slept for the past four days. All the struggles you face and all the battles you have fought have brought you where you...

  I parked my bicycle on the cobblestone path next to my favorite coffeehouse in London and ran up the pathway. Raindrops fell from the sky as I wrapped my peacoat closer around my body to protect...

You’re on the eve of your 30th birthday. As you’re blowing out the candles on your birthday cake, you remember telling your friends on your 29th that if you didn’t get married by the end of this...

On any other summer day, I would have rather slept in. But Tuesdays were different. Every week, my alarm clock jolted to life at 7:45 a.m., and every week I sprung out of bed, eager to take on the...