Three more days left at this camp before my cousin, Nina and I can go home. This whole business of a camp for twelve-year-old girls in the Hill Country of Texas, near Austin, never appealed to us. We are

I have two master’s degrees. Twice in my life, I’ve completed my final work for graduate school. This story concerns the first time that happened. Hence, the very literal title. It was early May 2012. It was so hot in Boston

Dog must have known his day would come.  He was usually the victor in these bouts, but today, Captain Jack had him cornered. The two men had been at it since dawn, and soon, the coveted prize would be

During a pregnancy, the quickening—the first sign of fetal movement—can feel like a light tapping, fluttering, or swishing. It’s a moment isolated in space and time: one opportunity, a whisper of life, and then it’s over.   I would

I was having an identity crisis, so I decided to fly to Scotland for the day. No one seemed to like Americans because they were ignorant and obnoxious, and though I was trying to combat this stereotype as much

Oh my heart, don’t desert me now.  You have, on occasion, reminded me you’re there, inside me, keeping me existing, preventing me from dying. You have done it when I play basketball, and you pound like you’re trying to

I “The 16:04 ScotRail service to Edinburgh Waverley will be departing from Platform Five. Please proceed to Platform Five for the 16:04 ScotRail service to Edinburgh Waverley.” I put the bag of McCoy’s salt and vinegar wavy crisps in

It started with a slightly itchy bump on the middle of my stomach to the right of and beneath my ribs. It was just painful enough that when I turned to sleep on my side in our Airbnb in