Last week, I had the opportunity to facilitate a professional development training session for a private high school staff on the general topic of cultivating student belonging. I’ve come to...

It’s no secret that human beings are relational creatures. But as loneliness is on the rise and sits at the epicenter of a mental health crisis; still not enough attention is paid to the...

Loss is an inevitable part of life. Sometimes it comes in the form of acute pain—like the loss of a loved one, a natural disaster, or an accident. Other times it can come through losing...

When I was little, I was diagnosed with a type of learning disability—a language processing issue that made it difficult to recall words to use when I spoke. Generally, it manifested itself...

One of the most formative experiences of my life was studying abroad during my Junior year in college. There was a girl I was in love with who merely mentioned the idea of taking a class in Italy,...

One of the great joys of my life is a guy named Nic. We met in drama class during our freshman year in high school and became instantly inseparable. Partially, it was due to our bizarre mutual bent...

 “Whoever tells the best story wins.” - John Quincy Adams

Anyone who’s been around a teenager for a significant amount of time understands how challenging it can be to...

When I was little, baseball was my singular passion. I even lobbied my parents to officially change my name to Steve, after my favorite baseball player Steve Sax. (They declined). I still...

Having a teenager in the house (or a group of them in a classroom) inevitably means conflict and tension. Frankly, they’re annoying. They’re desperate to carve their own path, do things...

Winston Churchill said, "The farther back you look, the further ahead you can see."

Most teens don't see very far into the future, though. How could they? They have much more pressing issues in the...