Many parents express that the birth of their first child is the happiest moment of their lives. My older brother (child 1) has a thick baby album festooned with decoupage. I (child 2) have a manila envelope with “JC” scribbled in sharpie. (Therapy’s helping.) But there’s also evidence from social science that new dads are … Read more
Growing up, my impression of marriage was somber. I came up in West Phoenix, which was overwhelmingly working class, brown, and divorced. My single mother, brother, and I fit right in. Was it a thing, I wondered, for a married couple to stay together in eternal bliss? How do we, the next generation of bliss-seekers, … Read more
When I was in the throes of getting my PhD, the idea of “work flexibility” simply wasn’t on my radar. Late nights, constant reading, and dissertation writing made sure of that. I was miserable. But everything changed the day I finished and snagged a flexible teaching job. My relationship with time transformed. My stress levels … Read more
Our cultural take on age is aggressively biased toward an assumption: Youth is strong and joyful, while old age is feeble and miserable. It’s no wonder 87% of us have FOGO (fear of getting old), a loud majority citing at least one reason why getting old will suck. (In case you’re curious, the 3 leading … Read more
There’s a prevailing narrative about happiness and work that’s worth picking apart. We are told by well-meaning mentors, from parents to teachers to overlings, that we should focus on work now so we can live better later. As the story goes, climbing the job ladder is how our most youthful/productive years should go, since this … Read more