kids
The younger version of myself would never have foreseen I’d end up living with my mummy and daddy at age 40, but sometimes life throws a spanner in the works.Earlier this year, my family of five moved to my hometown of the Gold Coast in Australia. I’d been living overseas,…
One thing every expat loves to tell you about the UAE is how safe it is. It’s almost a reflex. We say it to visiting friends. We say it to family back home who worry about the region. We say it because it has been true.This Saturday, I was reading…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Cody Greene, a 36-year-old from Tampa who has been in Dubai since Friday. It has been edited for length and clarity.I arrived in Dubai Friday night local time, planning to stay for a week. I’m a business development manager at a…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Roberta Maretti, 50, author of “Where the World Took Me.” Her words have been edited for length and clarity.I was born in Italy, and moved around a lot when I was growing up. By the time I finished high school, I’d…
I didn’t know what chocolate ganache was before watching reruns of an old Food Network pre-teen baking championship with my kids. But I did spot an opportunity to talk with them about how one contestant kept building her cake after it crumbled. We talked about the word perseverance.That’s the thing…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kristan Vermeulen, the founder of Makers of the USA podcast and community. It has been edited for length and clarity.I won the United States of America Pageants’ Ms. Maine title in 2025. This was not a competition like “Miss Congeniality.” There…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Andrew McCollum, the 42-year-old CEO of Philo, based in San Francisco. It’s been edited for length and clarity.My first job was at Subway, but my first meaningful career job was helping to start Facebook during my time at Harvard.I spent a lot of…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Asif Saleem, a financial services go-to-market lead for Japan and the Asia Pacific region at Google. Asif is the father of 13-year-old Usman Asif and 18-year-old Shanzey Asif. It’s been edited for length and clarity.It’s important for parents to help kids…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Maddi Thimont, 37, based in London. It has been edited for length and clarity.I always wanted a big career in law. I finished my law degree in 2007 with first-class honors and got my big break at a private law firm,…
When I was born in March 1999, my parents were both 25 years old. They were married and owned a house with a mortgage, and throughout my life, they’ve always seemed like “real” adults.I’m now older than they were when they had me. I’m turning 27 and, though I don’t…
