Category: Life & Living

Summer vacations are now in full swing for school-aged children across the United States. As I write this post from the shade of my covered patio on a surprisingly pleasant sunny afternoon, I can hear the cheerful, innocent laughter of the young neighborhood children splashing and playing at the community pool, and it brings me back to a time long ago. In this peaceful setting, I find myself nostalgic for the summer vacations of my youth—a time when I was too young for major responsibilities but old enough to enjoy the freedom that comes along with growing up. It has been a long time since I felt the exhilarating joy of walking out of my grammar school's side doors for the last time before the start of a new school…

I’ll be turning 50 this week. I remember celebrating my 40th and 45th birthdays, during which I felt somewhat depressed. Although my body still felt youthful, I began to realize that my opportunities to accomplish the things I still wanted in life were no longer limitless, which was a rather sobering realization. As I prepare to be a half-century old (which sounds like I’m an antique piece of furniture when I say it like that), I assumed I’d feel something significant, after all, turning 50 is a milestone that many people struggle to accept as reality. I’ve been waiting patiently to see if I would experience any signs of a mid-life crisis, feelings of disappointment about the paths I didn’t take, or nostalgia for a life that exists only in…

"I think midlife crisis is just a point where people's careers have reached some plateau and they have to reflect on their personal relationships." - Bill Murray. I have always been highly self-reflective, frequently expressing the thoughts and emotions that arise from this process in my writing and conversations with others. After all, the only way to genuinely improve oneself is to look back on our lives and reflect on our actions and decisions with complete transparency. Self-reflection is challenging and often requires us to confront uncomfortable truths about our choices, discomfort necessary for achieving meaningful results. As I explore this stage of life, I realize that aging alters our perceptions and impacts how we tolerate ourselves and our shortcomings. While I wouldn't necessarily label it a midlife crisis, reaching…