Lifestyle

Learning to be free with Janis Joplin’s ‘Me and Bobby McGee’

Welcome to Formative Jukebox, a column exploring the personal relationships people have with music. Every…

Lifestyle

In praise of Joni Mitchell (and other ’70s female songwriters who changed my life)

I will always be my mother’s daughter, probably in more ways than I realize. Because…

Entertainment

Why I’m proud to be a ‘Harry Potter’ fangirl

When I was in the sixth grade, JK Rowling did a book signing at the…

Lifestyle

How to start a journal—and stick with it

I‘ve kept a journal since the first grade. I started it because my Great Uncle…

Love

The best advice I ever got about love came from my grandmother

My grandmother was always interested in my love life. In high school, this sometimes annoyed…

Friends

A shy girl’s guide to getting out there

I used to be extremely shy. This one time, in the sixth grade, the boy…

Lifestyle

Why I decided to self-publish my own YA novel

After gathering dust in a three-ring binder for nearly five years, I recently put my…