“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.
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 FrostOne 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…
Q: Who lives a better life? A: The French (Sorry, America)
There’s something downright dysfunctional when it comes to the relationship between America and France.
Nearly a century ago, a French academic by the name of André Siegfried penned that…
“France occupies a place apart in the United States, No other country … is more passionately loved, and none is more…
It was like telling the person you love most that you have a terminal illness then watching yourself die a little in their eyes
For over fifteen years, I convinced myself that there is one thing I should hide from the woman who knows everything else about me.
I now know I’m wrong.
Marisa needs to know but know what, precisely? Having just opened a Pandora’s box on gender, I don’t know what to…
Tip 1: Start by nixing your bucket listed tourist traps
“Yoo arh Americken… but yoo now leeve in France?”
In the four years that we lived in the French countryside, this was by far the most common question that we were asked.
No matter the social setting or amount of wine consumed, there was always someone curious and brave enough…
My mixed-up journey from Head Boy to Queer Mormon
Why is it that life’s most memorable moments are often those when it ceases to make sense?
Sitting in my home office, I feel as though I’ve just shattered into a thousand irreconcilable pieces.
“How could I be this?” the phrase tumbles around my mind like dirty laundry in the…
Dave Smurthwaite
Helping you be happier & more creative by developing a Traveler Mindset: http://bit.ly/31SLsb2.
