When I was in kindergarten, my mom scheduled playdates to force me to socialize with other girls. My female playmates demanded compliments, played dolls with squeaky-high voices, and staged beauty pageants and dress-up games. Before the age of seven, they were checking themselves out in mirrors and fluffing their hair, just like their mothers. Within five minutes, IContinue reading “Why I Didn’t Play with Girls”
Tag Archives: success
Winners and Losers
Today a middle-aged Korean woman and I learned that American culture divides people into winners and losers. Or so her ESL textbook assured us. Americans view life as a “race for success,” the textbook authors claimed. Those who play the game well are rewarded. And those who don’t? They can feel useless and devalued, sinceContinue reading “Winners and Losers”
The Only Way Out Is Up
“It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we are free to do anything,” a character in Fight Club says. And it’s true. Failure gets a bad rap because people don’t understand what it means. We assume that failure is permanent. Final. And so is success. As if these are static–rather than momentary ups and downs along theContinue reading “The Only Way Out Is Up”
The Trailer Park MFA 
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