I’ll be honest with you, I’ve been dreading the American president’s State of the Union on TV this week. Don’t get me wrong, I’m interested in politics and I like following the news and staying informed about what’s going on in the United States and around the world. But recently I’ve seen so many Facebook statuses with political rants, name-calling, and frustration that my interest in politics has worn thin. (more…)

What I remember about seventh grade is finding myself in a new school about five times as big as I’d ever known—I was stumped by algebra, and the girl who wanted to help me get through that class was my only friend. Neither of us were cool, and she didn’t care, but I longed to be accepted by the in-crowd. But every attempt to connect with them ended up in some awful embarrassment. It was a painful time of learning how to make friends and how to be a friend.

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