Dribbling in the Dark
What it’s like to be 14 in a new school, a new city away from home—and the wrong ethnicity in a divided country.
growingup
A collection of 81 issues
Symbolism for Beginners
For tens of thousands of years, wild horses have inspired humans—to nurture, to create, to slaughter—culminating in the past century of America’s legal and psychological battles over the horses we can’t own.
The Limousine
Prom is a big night for many teenagers, full of firsts. First corsage. First big dance. Never mind first time in a limo—with disastrous results.
The End Isn't the End
When insomnia and technological convenience collide, a lifetime of binge reading reaches its full potential.
The Dosa Gentrification
Indian culture is under siege by Westerners enamored with yoga, authenticity, and convenience. The dosa—a beloved, inconvenient tradition—could be next to fall.
You Never Forget
At 36, a schoolteacher learns how to ride a bicycle from his former student, who’s still struggling to succeed in school programs that value order above all else.
Thoroughly Modern Marxism
A Marxist upbringing, graduating into a recession, and a lineage of missed opportunities make a brutal combination.
The Art of Swimming
Three near-drownings elucidate the wisdom of a 17th-century guide to swimming safety and technique.
Dear Daughter, Your Mom
Drawing inspiration from those who went before, and those still to come, in the waitress wars.
A Country’s Width
Years go by easier when there are 2,000 miles separating a father and son. Then an American flag turns up in your lap.
No Blanket Left Behind
Across generations, when children can’t find their comfort objects—usually soft toys like blankets or favorite stuffed animals—all hell breaks loose.
White Rabbit
When illness erases the fine line between love and obsession.
Send, Dad
Ever since my dad got an iPad last year, he sees it fit to multitask: Read an article, and text me about it.
Grandpa
Passing the summer days in North Carolina’s low country often meant sitting on the porch with Grandpa and his radio. Today, it doesn’t take much to go back there.
Burying the Present
Thirty years ago, two friends created a vision of the future—a space opera put to tape—and buried it in a time capsule. Listening again today, it turns out we remember the past as it never quite was.
The Champagne of Maine
The top-selling spirit in Maine is a coffee-flavored brandy, something that could be straight out of old medicine texts. A hunt for the origins of a staple, in the northern woods and waterfronts.
Kitty Pride
A visit with the prima donnas of the 32nd Annual Westchester County Cat Show helps a longtime owner appreciate her unruly childhood best friend, now departed.
A Tooth for a Tooth
Modern dentistry does wonders for a rotten molar or a cracked bicuspid—it’s modern dental insurance that falls short.
Heartplunger
A childhood ban on toy guns didn’t erase the specter of death from a neighborhood.
The University of Marias
Daily life can wear you down when your freshman-year roommates are gray-haired and flirting with dementia. Then again, the best lessons may come that way.
Midfield
Your opponents have something to prove, certain wishes they want fulfilled. Also, they really hope their knees don’t blow out before halftime. Welcome to over-40s soccer.
Fly Girl
Even if you grow up crushing on the jets in Top Gun—and not Tom Cruise—it can be tough to preserve a dream of defending your country from a plane. But some girls do.
The Break-Up
Elections once conferred a larger knowledge that made us feel more connected to what’s important. But this cycle’s meaningless content overload has delivered little more a desire to unplug.
The Truth Will Set You Free
I knew when I was in trouble—like the time I was 13 and was caught watching porn on my dad’s computer—and I knew I couldn’t escape my fate. Nor would I have wanted to.
Shorty
When you were a toddler, doctors told your parents you had a "failure to thrive." Which means: You're small, and you're going to be short. Later, when medication helps you grow faster than you’ve ever grown before, the hardest part may be deciding when to stop.
The College Years
Armed with personal histories and transfer credits, grads from ’88 to ’15 hold a fall-semester seminar on majors, dorms, and the types of roommates to avoid.
Your Third Nipple
All your life, you thought you just had an odd-looking little mole. From 2011, what it’s like when a doctor says that you belong in the ranks of Marky Mark, centuries of witches, and Krusty the Clown.
The Sex Trade in Northwest Wisconsin
In a small town with a withering economy, rebellion is choosing college over your job at the X-rated drive-in.
Letters to a Pitchikoo
Shoes, cars, T-shirts—it’s easy for people to become attached to favorite objects. But something is horribly wrong when a girl begins writing fan mail to her ring.
Fanboy
As America dreams of black ops teams, where do mutants belong? And can comics end wars? From Captain America to big blond Thor, Osama bin Laden, and beyond.
How the Dead Live
There’s a peculiar odor to burning hope—it’s the smell of exhaust fumes, human sweat, and a fast-food container interred under a seat cushion.
State of Play
Does your minor want to be a miner? How about a McNugget cook? Welcome to KidZania, a revolutionary theme park coming soon to the U.S. that lets kids play at corporate-sponsored employment.
Pomp and Consequence
Celebrity graduation speakers should dispense wisdom and entertainment, or cause a scandal. Our writer found eight who managed to provide at least two out of three.
Hello to All That
Joan Didion once called New York "a city only for the very young." Moving back to the city at age 33, our writer considers her complaints and comes up optimistic.
Joan Didion Crosses the Street
For a generation of young writers, Joan Didion is more than an icon: She tells them how the world was when their parents were young.
Jack & Ginger
Moving back to your hometown offers opportunities to rekindle old friendships—and start new ones. An 80-proof love story.
The Transient, Digital Fetish
As the world goes Kindle and iPhone-mad, paperbacks and mixtapes become worthy of devotion. Watching a music collection disappear and wondering what it meant.
Stereoblind
After a lifetime of visual miscues, I finally decided to do something about my optical condition. Now comes the hard part: seeing the world through both eyes.
How to Survive a Crush
Two decades after high school days spent yearning to be a part of the “in” crowd, our writer confronts her former dream date, now a best-selling author, and her former self.
Where Amazing Happens
The current NBA playoffs—including the elderly, surprising Celtics—are offering up some record-breaking basketball. From 2008, an ode to professional players, including Kevin Garnett and friends, and why pro ball is the best ball of all.
Stuck in My Head
We've all had songs we could listen to it for days on end—and have, much to the annoyance of anyone within earshot.
Girl Lessons
Mothers and daughters don't always have the easiest relationships, especially when the daughters try to recycle the mothers with the trash. A story of aspirations, generations, and pop culture quizzes.
Deified and Demagogued
Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, passed away this week. A gaming enthusiast remembers how the discovery of a game opened a new world of imagination and fun.
Sins of Admission
Growing up with strict Muslim rules can be tough in mainstream America. Throw in prank calls to sexually excitable old men and the going suddenly gets harder.
The Most Competitive Man Alive
Recounting lessons from a first Nintendo, particularly as taught by the highs and lows of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out.
The Bear
Being a new father of two girls takes love, patience, and the wisdom not to attack other children in their defense.
Please Spool to End of Tape Before Playing Other Side
For music listeners of every era, our audio formats define us—until we grow up and upgrade. Remembering the sweet squeak of cassettes.
How to Make Friends and Poke People
Facebook is old news for the sub-30 set, but plenty of their elders are tuning in, logging on, and tossing cows.
Bringing It All Back Home
When the St. Louis Cardinals’ former stadium was demolished, fans rushed to pick up pieces from the ballpark where their memories were made. What they bought, and what it means to them.
Bonding in the Battlemaze
The family that plays together, stays together—unless they’re playing laser tag.
Ipswich Rock City
Somewhere between the pub stage and the capacity-filled stadium is Ipswich, home to one of Britain’s most overlooked music scenes. Though why anyone would want to look there in the first place is anybody’s guess.
My First Time With Toots and the Maytals
When you’re young and in love, it’s not so easy to tell the difference between songs of love and songs of protest. A tale of passion and seriously critical misreadings.
Songs of Herself
Hearing old songs is a great way to get in touch with your past, but what happens when every song points to a different ex-boyfriend?
Raisin Hell
Fitting in is hard to do. Left to your own imagination, is it better to be yourself--or be a California Raisin? A tale of fourth-grade woe.
Brushes With the Law
Who knew what evil once lurked in our hearts? Arsonists, accomplices, troublemakers all, here are nine lives of crime, cut short.
Semester's End
It's Elisabeth Eckleman's first year of college, and she has a lot of tough choices to make. In this installment, Elisabeth is hit with some unexpected news, and she's faced with her most important decision yet.
Give Me a (Thanksgiving) Break
It's Elisabeth Eckleman's first year of college, and she has a lot of tough choices to make. In this installment, Elisabeth travels home for a visit and returns to a roommate whose behavior is becoming more and more difficult to live with. You decide what happens next.
Do Right Man
When you find someone who can cut your hair right, get engaged. Otherwise they'll eventually leave, and you'll have to find someone new. Someone who, in our author's case, would love to see you with a high-top fade.
November Rain
It's Elisabeth Eckleman's first year of college, and she has a lot of tough choices to make. In this installment, Elisabeth lies to protect Raj, then tries to determine who told the professor about their extracurricular activities in the first place. You decide what happens next.
Our Faded Summers
It may be something in the sunscreen, but funny things happen during summer: dehydration, Lyme disease, brief romantic flings. Collected writings of love lost and won (but mostly lost).
Types of Stories My Mother Tells
As it begins, you’re pretty sure you’ve heard this one before. Wait, no, maybe this time it’s different. Maybe this time it’ll have an extra nugget of sage advice. Maybe? A catalog of favorite themes.
Haunted Halloween
It's Elisabeth Eckleman's first year of college, and she has a lot of tough choices to make. In this installment, Elisabeth takes her T.A., Raj, to a costume party, where he refuses to dance. You decide what happens next.
Lies, All Lies
It's Elisabeth Eckleman's first year of college, and she has a lot of tough choices to make. In this installment, Elisabeth keeps a secret while trying to survive a weekend of everyone else's parents. You decide what happens next.
Back to School
It's Elisabeth Eckleman's first year of college, and she has a lot of tough choices to make. In this installment, Elisabeth heads back to school with fresh eyes and provides a shoulder for Kat—a friend in need, indeed.
My Sporting Life
From the very first moment we suit up for gym, our physical abilities can influence who we become or reveal who we were meant to be: blooming star athlete or total band nerd.
Home, Alone
It's Elisabeth Eckleman's first year of college, and she has a lot of tough choices to make. In this installment, Elisabeth goes home to see her mom—without Brad—and then meets an old friend with an attractive offer.
Date Unknown
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth questions how she feels about Chad, but then the unthinkable happens. You decide what happens next.
Mother, Jugs, and Lone Star Beer
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth tries to figure out why her mom calls six times a day. You decide what happens next.
Screw the R.A. (Wait, You Already Did)
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth tells Kat about what’s been going on with Geoff. You decide what happens next.
Bright Eyes, Big City
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth goes to the Bright Eyes concert with her R.A. and continues to avoid her T.A. You decide what happens next.
An Escape With Geoff
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth makes time for friends, but not for studying, and gets the grades to prove it. You decide what happens next.
Flirting With Disaster
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth decides that when her date becomes a ho, she will too. You decide what happens next.
A New, Old House
It's true: You can never go home again. Watching a construction team renovate the house you grew up in, and understanding why your parents wanted a new place to live.
Pimps & Ho's
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth goes to a sorority party and isn't sure what to do once the theme takes over. You decide what happens next.
Class Begins
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth makes a new friend and isn't sure if she should bring her boyfriend material to a party. You decide what happens next.
Party With Kat
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth goes to a party with her roommate and meets a new somebody. You decide what happens next.
Freshman Year
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth loses her high-school boyfriend and drives to college with her parents. You decide what happens next.
The Secret Gardener
Your parents' hobbies seem odd and quaint until you discover you can't sleep late on the weekends anymore. Finding early middle age in the flower boxes of your backyard.
To the Teen Beat of His Own Drummer
Maybe you only know him as "the other one" from Weird Science, but Ilan Mitchell-Smith is a former actor turned real human being (and Ph.D. candidate, no less).
Friends’ Bands I Have Known
For two years, you thought your college roommate’s band was going to hit the big time. Then you were sober again.
Glimpses of a Redneck Childhood
Boredom, adventure, and mischief. Our writer remembers a past knee-deep in cockroaches, waist-high in foiled plans, and up to its neck in it and more.