Milestones like getting married and having kids used to clearly mark someone’s transition to adulthood, but not anymore. Conventionally, the “transition to adulthood” is defined by five milestones: “completing school, leaving home, becoming financially independent, marrying, and having a child.” It’s a reflexive classification that once had a firm stronghold on how we moved through […]
Angi Becker Stevens desperately wanted to be one of the boys growing up, and eventually realized that her entire self-worth was dependent on boys’ opinions of her. As I remember it, I spent my early childhood in a refreshingly gender-neutral manner; I was equally fond of Legos and Barbies, Matchbox cars and model trains and […]
What is guilt? And what purpose does it truly serve? Can’t we just let go of guilt and feel free to be flawed? Lately, I’ve been lying a lot. “Do you have children?” a stranger will ask me. “Yes,” I reply, and when I tell them my son is nearly 3, I nod and sigh […]
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. The minutes from an emergency family meeting my daughter called a few years ago read: “By a vote of 4 to 1, it is hereby resolved that Mom is banned from playing amateur electrician. Further, she must surrender the following so-called toys: the chainsaw, sledgehammer, […]
The following is excerpted from The Beauty Experiment: How I Skipped Lipstick, Ditched Fashion, Faced the World Without Concealer, and Learned to Love the Real Me by Phoebe Baker Hyde as printed on Salon.com. Available from Da Capo Press. Copyright © 2012. This is who I am: a woman. I’m a daughter, a sister, a […]
At the start of a new year, everyone wants to be transformed. But can true transformation happen without first finding balance? Today marks the final day of a three-week cleanse my boyfriend and I undertook as part of our mission to make 2013 a healthier year for both of us. We eschewed the making of […]
Originally appeared on Mamamia.com. Republished here with permission. My wheels fell off this week. Nothing serious and yet still, I lost it. The wobbles began when I noticed I was feeling stressed, overwhelmed and guilty guilty guilty. Such a helpful emotion, guilt. You try to shake off its oppressive stench, but it dulls your senses […]
Getting married and having kids used to signal the transition into adulthood, but what are the signs of adulthood today? Last fall I visited Vienna, Austria, for the first time. While other tourists might consider the opera and the palace must-sees, I opted for Prater amusement park. Riding the tallest swings ride I’ve ever been […]
