By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. My daughter recently said to me, “You are surprisingly athletic.” While certainly a loaded statement, to be honest, I’ll take this 70% compliment, 30% insult from her. Being athletic has been important to me ever since my best friend and I owned the boys on our elementary school’s kickball field...
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Sometimes, what’s left unsaid means more than what’s spelled out. Think about how your mom or dad might prepare your favorite meal after a stressful day and let you enjoy it in peaceful silence. That quiet gesture can often show as much love and care, if not more, than asking..
By Adam Muri-Rosenthal, Ph.D. Child of a single working mom, Daniel has just moved from New Jersey to California where he lives in the only ramshackle apartment complex in Reseda that his mother can afford. Daniel initially hates California, but the moment he meets Ally, things start to look up… or at first they seem..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. In a recent conversation with a student, something bothered me about her ideas for community service. It also bothered me that something about wanting to help others was somehow problematic. As I listened to her explain that she wanted to join an organization, similar to the National Honor Society, that..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Everyone should do something that makes them happy at least once a day. As The Atlantic’s happiness expert, Arthur Brooks, notes, “[T]here is plenty of evidence that time spent daydreaming and enjoying non-work pursuits can lead to not just happiness but also better work performance and higher creativity.” Yet, not..
By Nora Lessersohn, A.M. “It was a ____(adjective)____ and stormy night, and I was ____(adjective)____. My ____(noun)____ asked me if I wanted some ____(noun)____.” Remember MadLibs? The game where you fill in the blanks with adjectives, nouns, and verbs to make a funny story? Well, believe it or not, you can look to this childhood..
By Nora Lessersohn Junior year is supposed to be the year you really “come into your own” as a high school student. Normally, you could excel in clubs or sports, in the classroom, and at summer programs. But this year, many of these opportunities are unavailable. So, how do you stay engaged, keep up morale,..
By – Nora Lessersohn This admissions cycle, as COVID-19 has forced over 55% of colleges to go “test optional,” “test flexible,” or “test blind,” you will need other parts of your application to help you stand out from the crowd. With any luck, testing will soon be a thing of the past, and finding ways..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. In June of every year, commencement speakers appear onstage to impart words of wisdom to excited and anxious graduates. Their messages are meant to fortify young people as they transition from childhood into adulthood. While tradition holds that most students sit and listen, I thought it was important to allow..
By Nora Lessersohn and Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. As spring and summer programs are cancelled, and the world’s communities continue to suffer from the COVID-19 crisis, you may be looking for ways to spend your time and help others. Of course, most of us can’t be out contributing on the front lines. Fortunately, many organizations..