People think that a high school drop out, drops out because they get pregnant, or they use drugs, or they lack intelligence, or they are lazy. The fact is, that kids drop out of high school for variou...Read More
I think I was called a long time ago. When I was ten years old, I remember sitting in the car with my childhood friend Susan and her mom before Mass, and out of the blue I blurted, “I am afraid I am...Read More
I was once what adults called a picky eater. There were only certain colors I would eat. The beige family is the most reliable, and it also encompasses most bread-based breakfast foods (rainbow-colore...Read More
Last week I received a phone call from a random, unkown person. When I picked up the phone, this fellow asked, “Is this Karen Leslie Hernandez?” I happily replied, “Yes, it is,” and he proceed...Read More
A few years ago I was going through a very hard time. I said to my father, “I just want my dignity back!” My father, a Navy survival instructor, replied, “Jenny, no one can take away your dignit...Read More
What are we?! – MEN! What are men?! – RESPECTFUL!!!! Let’s hear it louder! What are we?!!! – MEN!!!! What are men?!!! – SENSITIVE!!!! WHAT ARE WE?! – MEN!!!!!! WHAT ARE...Read More
The first thing I noticed about the Western Wall is that everybody was crying. I had been lost in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, and when I rounded the gate above the Wall (the Kotel) t...Read More
I arrived at Gate 6 in Terminal 3 at JFK an hour before departure to Tel Aviv. It was technically yesterday, but due to the flight and the travel I’ve only scraped together some shallow dozes, and t...Read More
The lighting of Chanukah candles can be seen as a ceremonial process through which we enact the destruction that necessarily precedes rededication. We place our candle in its holder, light its tiny fl...Read More
In a world where girls and young women are bombarded by the media's portrayal of the perfect body -- where eating disorders, depression and low self-esteem characterize young women's lives -- there al...Read More