Family

Though the Future of The Build Back Better Plan is Uncertain, We Must Consider Why Four Weeks of Paid Family Leave Is Only a Starting Point

In the United States, we prefer short-term remedies over solutions. As a global leader, we…

I May Never Have a Good Answer to the Age-Old Question, ‘Where Are You From?’

“Moving around a lot is hard. Then you have 10 places to not call home.”…

Not to be Mentioned

I must have seen at least one expectant mother by the time I was eight,…

Making sense of life -and death; Or die trying, anyway!

We think of death as merely the opposite of life and in a fundamental and…

The Birthday Present

The Birthday Present May 8, 1971, was my eighth birthday. Birthdays were never a big…

Understanding Estrangement

A friend of mine had me over for dinner. What she shared with me broke…

Bisected

When they divorce, they bisect me. Weeks with Mom, weekends and certain holidays with Dad.…

Oh, Small Peanuts

The first time I saw Americans, I was fifteen years old in China.  My brother…

Homecooked: Persian Food Traditions For Health

American-born Iranians from my generation understand a few things as fact: We are expected to…

Origins

Before I was born the erasure of my origins was imprinted in my genes the…

Remembering Ruben Ramos Herrera

The glimmer of the setting sun brushes the tips of grassy plains. The scene is…

A Parent & Adjunct Assistant Professor’s Guide to the Pandemic

The COVID-19 Pandemic has been an informing moment in time for me.  When life changed…

October is “Celebrating the Bilingual Child Month”

My four-year-old daughter, Xun — her name means wind in Chinese — started attending the…

when the ache echoes

If I said mother will you read this poem I wrote about how much you…

It Was More Than Just Food: The Impact of the U.S Census on Student Breakfast Programming & College Funding

For as long as I can remember I always wanted to make an impact in…