feel

Jill Hornick feels like she’s at a funeral.She has been a Social Security field office employee for 34 years, and serves as the administrative director of a Chicago-based union representing her colleagues. Since President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency began large-scale cuts of the federal workforce, Hornick…

My parents raised my brother, two sisters, and me to be adventurers. To seize the day and explore the planet, just as they did in their younger years. I’ve lived away from them for 15 years, moving from place to place. Although I’ve had fun, I do feel guilty about…

After spending our whole lives in upstate New York, my husband and I were ready for a change.While we both enjoyed the seasonality of the northern states, the long winters were starting to grate on us, and his career in finance would flourish in a busier city.In 2019, we zeroed…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lisa Jean-Francois, a mom and content creator in her 40s from Boston, MA, about leaving the influencer industry. It’s been edited for length and clarity.When I started posting content in 2012, it was drugstore makeup and inexpensive fashion. I thought, “I…

I spent several summers lazing at home, watching movies with my family, and swinging with abandon at the playground with my friends.Eventually, my mother suggested sending me to an overnight camp. I had never been away from my parents for more than a night, and the camp, about a four-hour…

AI is finding its voice — and using it to take your weeknight pizza order.Restaurants, including Domino’s and Wingstop, have used voice AI assistants for years to chat with customers on the phone and take their orders. Lately, though, they’ve been finessing those assistants by adding region-specific accents, adjusting their…