(That I now live by) — As children, our parents are essentially the rule-makers of our young lives. They’re the first line of defense in what we can and cannot do and they have the power to give or take things away from us as they see fit based on their predefined rules. They set boundaries…

I took everything I thought I knew about “racing” and just told myself to run conservatively, don’t push it, and have fun — I recently ran the New York City Half Marathon this past Sunday after three long, hard months of training. Only this time, it was slightly different than past half marathons I’ve run. This time, I was carrying an extra fifteen pounds of weight because (drum roll) I was running the…

In marathon running, and in life, it’s a long journey and it can be wildly unpredictable — A few years ago, comedian, Jim Gaffigan, did a skit about running the New York City Marathon and poked fun at the ridiculousness of people actually running one. As a marathoner myself, I can honestly say that I wasn’t offended at all. In fact, I actually found it to be…

There’s a difference between those of us on Medium who are writing for profit versus those of us who are only making a few bucks a month — A decade ago, writing became something that I really began pouring my heart and soul into. I used writing as a vessel for expressing my emotions and documenting my experiences as a twenty-something year-old living in New York City. I started a Wordpress blog for fun, with no real focus…

At the end of the day, sometimes we just have to leave the past in the past — Have you ever walked away from an argument or heated conversation and then you think of your final, witty remarks only after the conversation has already ended? …

Losing a family member affects so much more than just yourself — it affects the family unit as a whole — It’s been nearly two years since my Dad died. It happened slow and fast all at the same time. We found about his cancer diagnosis in late-December and he was gone by the first week April. And despite the few, short months that we had left with him in between…

Prioritizing yourself and putting your mental health above others only helps everyone else in the long run — If there’s one word that’s becoming more and more prevalent as my primary response towards friends and family, it’s “no”. It’s saying no to back-to-back commitments, spontaneous get-togethers, and things that I frankly just don’t want to do. A few years ago, saying no used to be this uncomfortable, awkward…

At the end of the day, our writing isn’t always going to be for everyone — The other day, I came across an article with a headline that really intrigued me. Upon clicking on it, I was eagerly looking forward to reading what this author had to say. However, after a few sentences, I immediately lost interest. I no longer cared to continue reading what they…

If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that right now, I don’t really know anything — Since sharing the news of my pregnancy to my friends, family, and just people in general, I’ve been utterly overwhelmed by the amount of (both solicited and unsolicited) advice that I’ve been getting in terms of what to buy, what to do, and how to prepare for becoming a new…