Is photography art? It seems like a simple question, but the answer becomes more complicated the longer I think about it. A camera can document a family gathering, record an important event, advertise a product or capture evidence. Not every photograph is necessarily created as art. Yet photography can also express an idea, preserve an…

Why I Am Reading Books Regularly Again I have always loved books, but I do not read nearly as much as I did two decades ago. In my early twenties, I could finish one to three books a week. I could sit quietly for hours, become absorbed in a subject and sometimes spend an entire…

Sometimes, it is hard to be grateful. There are mornings when I wake up feeling depressed, empty, uninterested and crabby. Nothing has necessarily gone wrong that morning, but I do not feel excited about the day ahead. During those moments, my mind immediately notices what is missing. I think about my problems, disappointments and the…

Reaching 40 can make you look at life differently. You begin thinking about the years behind you, the choices you made, and the plans that did not happen the way you expected. There is gratitude for how far you have come, but there can also be difficult questions. Did I choose the right path? Have…

Moving to Canada felt like opening a new chapter of my life, but the first pages were not easy to write. Everything was unfamiliar—the weather, the culture, the way people communicated, and even the small routines of everyday life. Starting over in Canada has been exciting, difficult, and humbling. More than anything, it has taught…