Smelly teenagers smushed together, tight as they can get on pleather seats, wearing sweaty socks and sneakers, open gym bags thrown in every direction, half eaten bananas lying on the floor next to a leaky water cooler, inside a yellow metal bus that likely does not have working ventilation. This may sound like a nightmare to most, but this is where I feel perfectly content. As athletes know, cross-country is very different from other “game sports,” and cross-country runners are...

It was in kindergarten, but I still remember the day that my mom brought home the first Harry Potter book, the Sorcerer’s Stone. She read it aloud to me one chapter every night. I was 6 years old, but I instantly fell in love. I was fascinated by the concept of magic and a far away parallel universe, and immediately connected with the characters- Ron, Hermione, and Harry.  The Sorcerer’s Stone addressed my greatest six-year-old fears: losing my parents,...

A description of my nuclear family reads like the casting call for a network sitcom: hard working mom, goofy step dad, annoying but sweet younger brother, and somewhat clueless dad with his pretty but spacey girlfriend. Having divorced parents might be the only interesting part of that story. However, my parents get along really well (we have been described as "overly functional"), so even their divorce is comfortable. Mine is essentially the classic American family circa 2013--lots of love and...

I remember sitting in the doctor’s office, on the unforgivably cold table, tears welling up in my eyes, as he gave me the bad news. I remember wishing that it were nothing more than a bad dream- that it couldn’t be real. The majority of my doctor's appointment, "that" doctor's appointment, the dream-crushing one, was spent thinking that (1) the table was unforgiving and cold and (2) I rarely cry, but it seemed to be an acceptable time to do...

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