advice

On the floor

December 21, 2011

A little advice from me to you: never wear new shoes to a job interview. Even if they are really comfortable, there is always the chance that you will slip on the shiny marble floor in the lobby of a major government agency and land on your face. You might also sprain your ankle, which [...]

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The Lady With All The Answers

June 4, 2010

People come to me for advice all the time. I think I’m going to start an advice column. Every advice columnist has his/her own angle. Dan Savage is all about sex, Lucinda Rosenfeld has a relatively new column on Slate.com exclusively about friendship, and Randy Cohen from the New York TImes is our ethical/legal guru. [...]

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Commencement II: O’Brien

May 17, 2010

I’m planning on posting a commencement speech every Monday through mid-June. Feel free to nominate your favorites for future inclusion. Commencement II: Class Day with Conan O’Brien I remember well the great uncertainty of this day. Many of you are justifiably nervous about leaving the safe, comfortable world of Harvard Yard and hurling yourself headlong [...]

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Act without reference to others

March 15, 2010

I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me. -Elizabeth Bennet

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Don’t be cynical

January 31, 2010

All I ask is one thing, and I’m asking this particularly of young people: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism, for the record, it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re [...]

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Hope and determination

January 22, 2010

Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be. — Clementine Paddleford

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Day off

November 26, 2009

Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering. -Winnie the Pooh

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Good advice from unexpected places

November 11, 2009

Apparently, they expect you to work in grad school. Not cool. I sort of thought I could roll into work around noon, putter around for a few hours, head home and they’d just hand me a degree eventually. Alas, my committee insists on meeting and I am now in a rush to cram 4 months [...]

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Motivation

October 28, 2009

I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you have lived at all. –Leo Rosten

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Friends of the Road

October 2, 2009

I read this piece a few years ago and wanted to share it with you. It makes me feel better about the friendships I thought were lost, and even more grateful for the ones still going strong. -a Why do friendships come and go? How does a once-bosom pal wind up erased from your address [...]

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