I'm working on a novel where the main character needs to drop out of school due a family tragedy and she needs to figure out a way back. It's based on my own personal experience fighting through the bureaucratic federal and state financial aid set up here in the US. Considering the cost of tuition now relative to the cost of living - there's no way in Hell I would have been able to afford attending SU in 2021.

Some thoughts on Breast Cancer Awareness Month from someone that's been through the storm.

I had a conversation with my son a while back about how sometimes we come across some policy or rule that just doesn’t seem to make sense. Sometimes we just can’t accept something as well, “that’s just the way it is” (thanks Bruce Hornsby for the earworm now). I don’t remember what prompted the conversation, but I recalled my own personal story from high school in NYC.