3 continents, 3 unforgettable moments, 1 big broad application — Lesson #1: The Power of a Simple Smile Location: Kigali, Rwanda Rwanda is most famously known for the horrific genocide that started in April 1994. In less than 100 days, over 800,000 people were slaughtered.

*except for… no… never mind. — Years before moving abroad, I’d heard mythical tales about how lazy the French are: “Oh those French… they’re always on strike” “You only worked 35 hours this week?! What are you French?” “The French are famous for taking coffee breaks every 15 minutes, for at least 30 minutes at a…

Why is it the best things in life are… so… French? — Living in France ruined my life. Like a great love affair with a rear-view mirror, I find myself constantly looking back… wondering what it is about my France that makes it so… so… “magnifique.” I don’t have all the answers but these are three things I absolutely miss since “moving…

“The thought of death fools us into forgetting about life” — For centuries Americans have been fascinated by the French. From their impossibly bureaucratic mindset to the hundreds of cheeses they adore — everything in France is either endearing or maddening, depending on which American you stop on the street. One thing, however, is certain. The French love to drink deeply…

You’re not broken. You’re amazingly brave. — Living as non-binary is one of the hardest things I deal with, especially as a devout father, husband, and active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Too often I have felt like my inability to rejoin the “mainstream” of gender roles means I’m permanently broken. But…

The moralities and mindsets of stuffing your face — Six years ago we moved to a small village in the French countryside. It’s also when I started eating French pastries on a daily basis. …and proceeded to lose 20 pounds over the course of a year. The secret behind this seeming gastro-anomaly began in the backseat of our French minivan

Words from within my faith left me feeling without — When I was eighteen, my father reverently passed down to me a printout of one of the most influential speeches he had ever heard: The Will of the Father in All Things, given at BYU in 1989 by Jeffrey R. Holland, then President of BYU. For three decades, I have…

How to choose the path that matters most — Many of us are familiar with the closing lines of this famous poem: "...Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost One of the reasons for its familiarity is because it’s core to…

What my friends don’t know is what really makes me sick — Until recently, I’d never considered myself mentally ill. Then I came out publicly about my lifelong struggle with gender dysphoria, which is when the questions started from family, friends, and strangers: “What exactly is gender dysphoria?” “Are you going to start dressing as a woman?” “Does this mean you like…