On 9/11/2001, I was five days away from my 20th birthday. I worked at 4 World Trade Center on the ground floor waiting tables, and went to… — On 9/11/2001, I was five days away from my 20th birthday. I worked at 4 World Trade Center on the ground floor waiting tables, and went to school at Pace University which was just a few blocks away. The remains of two of the victims were just identified this month…

Every Christmas, I teeter on the knife’s edge of an emotional breakdown. I hate Christmas in the way that most kids with a complicated… — Every Christmas, I teeter on the knife’s edge of an emotional breakdown. I hate Christmas in the way that most kids with a complicated upbringing hate Christmas. After the death of my maternal grandparents, and as I grew into a teenager, my family began to fall apart in chunks. The…

I have been striving my whole life. I can’t remember a time that I wasn’t. It has always been my nature. The first thing I clearly… — I have been striving my whole life. I can’t remember a time that I wasn’t. It has always been my nature. The first thing I clearly remember striving for was the coveted title of Student of the Week in Kindergarten. I always got bad marks in conduct, because I talked…