The butterfly certainly looked dead, helplessly trapped in that part of the beach where the sand dries quickly with each wave’s retreat.

I dreamt about her last night. We were visiting a college I wanted to go to. I was younger, she was younger and we were happy and healthy.

On February 22, 2013, my world turned upside down when I found myself in the passenger seat of an ambulance in Groton, Massachusetts, sirens blaring, going the wrong way down streets in order to save a life—my husband, Charlie.

When Banu Valladares came to Charlotte to attend UNC from her native Venezuela, she was 17-years-old and she had no idea how much that decision would change her life.

I wear a size 10 triple D shoe. Believe me, I did not sign up for this. For as long as I can remember, I have always had rather large feet.

I wanted to believe that if they had stood for over a century, those majestic trees would last forever, or surely outlive me. Same with my mama and my daddy. Though I’m certain they saw this passage coming, somehow I just didn’t. I’ve never known life without them.

Maybe hope, like exercise, requires doing, requires believing until it becomes part of your wardrobe.

I don't think I'll have a book written about me with 4th graders dressing up accordingly and delivering a speech about my life. But did Martin Luther King Jr. or Alexander Hamilton know that they would? Whether a book is written or not, someone will live in our wake that will tell our story. What will they say?

Writing is not something you can do with others. You will be showing up for yourself again and again. You will be wrestling words onto the page with nobody watching. You will be finishing chapter by chapter with no one paying you or offering you a prize. It is a slow, steady, uphill climb but like a mountain summit, there is a pretty great payoff at the end.

Whether it is a magical moose or simply a human kindness, we have to pay attention to see it. We have to remember to witness the extraordinary and not dismiss it as ordinary. It may not happen again.

Stretching beyond comfort zones can embolden us to try on different capes and possibly discover the “wow” when one fits like kismet. It is a process but what better gift to give ourselves, our children, partners, family and friends than the grace and example of always seeking to grow?

My entrepreneurial journey started 3 years ago in a quiet apartment in South End where I moved after unexpectedly leaving my big-city dreams and the Big Apple in the rear view mirror.

Sisters Shreya and Sahanna Mantha created a nonprofit to help girls become financial savvy, digitally capable, career confident and socially connected to change their path.

Jo Morrison of Kingsport, Tennessee inspires us all by working on housing for those experiencing homelessness—she is 104 years old.

Setting strong boundaries can be hard and yet I know that without good boundaries, you abdicate control of your life.

So keep writing for yourself—even if it feels like no one is reading. Just by writing, you will be changing your inner world. And when you are ready, publish that book—even without a book deal.

I've always been a fan of walking. Walking with friends or alone has always brought me joy. Recently, I learned a lesson walking that will stay with me always.

It’s been a week. I never used to say that, felt like giving up too easily, surrendering at the end of the match. But now I say it often. Too much? I say it again to myself, out loud. It’s been a different week, I tell myself. Yet, I wait.

Relationship Tip: if you want real answers, ask real questions.

It was 1999, when Ann Bostic first understood the term “lunch-shaming.” She has been fighting for justice ever since.