realize

I’ve been saying I don’t want kids since I was a kid myself. In fact, as I got older, I became convinced I didn’t even like being around them.It wasn’t something I ever had to think twice about in my 20s, but since entering my 30s, it feels impossible to…

My 78-year-old dad has had a 15-year love affair with Paris. Every summer like clockwork, he and my stepmom escape their New England home and make their annual pilgrimage to the French capital.Even though my older sister and I have done our fair share of our own adventures, we had…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nick Lappen, an American bartender and entrepreneur based in China. His words have been edited for length and clarity.I first visited China when I was 22 on a road trip from London to Mongolia, and the experience left a lasting impression.…