Families are ecosystems. Each life grows in response to the lives around it

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you'll have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either of them might run out.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

The soul-sucking activity of TV-watching feels better when it is done with other souls.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

The first gay person I ever met was surely not the first gay person I ever met.

Like many women my age, I am 28 years old.