Accolades and lists may tell us about accomplishments, but life is meant to be experienced, not just accomplished. It's like the difference between reading books for the sake of reading and reading books just to get a good grade.
Heroes aren't supposed to do bad things. That's what villains are for. So either the good supersedes the bad, or the bad makes it impossible to remember the good. We don't like it when such duality exists in one person. We don't want to know our heroes are human.
With technology and social media and citizen journalism, every rock that used to go unturned is now being flipped, lit and put on TV.
Personal style isn't simply an exercise in parroting but rather an exhibition for our own stories - from the gait of our walk to the rhythm of our speech to the manner in which the necktie falls from the knot.
My son was born during my last semester in college. His due date was Thanksgiving, but he didn't show up until finals week. I brought my books to the hospital and didn't think anything of it. That is what a father is supposed to do.
It seems everyone knows a college degree is important, but few have a plan to keep it affordable.
Just because we want our favorite team to win does not mean there's any lack of toughness when a player chooses family first.
The Dr. King holiday is not just for black people, African-Americans or people of African descent.
Believe me, I recognize the cultural and anatomical challenges and respect the sacrifices women make in order to balance family and a career, or family with no career, or career with no family.
Growing up, I didn't know anything about money other than we didn't have any.
Some of us have become so addicted to pointing fingers at others for all the wrong that happens in our lives that self-assessment has become synonymous with blaming the victim.
Children are wonderful, but they are not the center of the universe. The sooner their parents make them understand that, the better off we all will be.
I haven't dunked since Bill Clinton was in office, so I'm just happy for anyone who can do so without a trampoline.
The more time we invest imitating others, the less that's available to discover and be ourselves.
I'm all for holding each other accountable, but it feels as if we're hurling toward a society of finger-pointers, because we don't hold ourselves accountable for anything.
As a newspaper reporter, I covered and was around a fair number of crime scenes involving juvenile delinquents, and few things bothered me more than listening to their parents. Crying, ranting, proclaiming how great their children were despite being kicked out of school or previous run-ins with the law.
Children may be born angels, but with all the temptations out there in the world, it takes work to try to keep them that way.
Parents are supposed to instill a sense of right and wrong in their children and then keep up the due diligence necessary to make sure they don't veer off that path.
Of all the parts that make up my somewhat quirky life, there are few things that raise a stranger's eyebrows faster than discovering I love country music.
Complete strangers can stand silent next to each other in an elevator and not even look each other in the eye. But at a concert, those same strangers could find themselves dancing and singing together like best friends. That's the power of music.
