Ali Larijani was a symbol of the complex interplay between power, family, and ideology in Iran; a politician who, drawing on his military experience, nepotism, and pragmatism, managed to consolidate a unique position within the complex Iranian power structure and become a central player in the country's defining moments.
Childhood patterns of beliefs, behaviors, and emotions are easily introduced to our young, malleable psyches through immediate family members, relatives, teachers, clergy, and coaches who present prescribed ways to live. The beliefs we inherit describe convictions about religion, work, money, and relationships, including how to relate to emotions through either suppression or expression.
A 2026 travel report from Hilton identified "inheritourism" as a notable trend for the new year ― with 66% of travelers surveyed by the hotel brand saying that their parents have influenced their choice of accommodations, 60% saying they guided their choice of loyalty programs and 73% saying they shaped their general travel style.
My dad (PhD, Edinburgh) was teaching Bible, theology, and church history courses in a small Christian college that needed a philosophy teacher. They drafted him to fill the gap, so he took some summer courses at GWU and UC-Boulder to get up to speed. The family accompanied him on these trips, and I began to pick up on intriguing references to "dialectical materialism," "John Dewey," etc. I admired my dad,
I love how the skills you develop as a scientist can be applied to sewing and other crafts. Like science, sewing requires creativity, as well as an initial idea or concept to get going. Both are about research and experimenting, and are iterative processes, in which you apply knowledge gained from work that you and others have done previously. Despite these parallels, craftwork such as sewing and knitting is often undervalued or dismissed because it's seen as 'women's work'.
For me, it was seeing that what was offered (by rightwing parties) was not relevant to where I was at the time as a student. I had no money, no job, no connections and no clue about where I wanted to go with my life. But I did know I didn't want to work in London, wearing formal office attire and being a slave to the nine-to-five grind for the rest of my days. The leftwing parties seemed to offer more inclusion and be more welcoming to ordinary folk like me. So that's where I looked for my political home.
My grandma, Millie, played a huge role in my life. I think a lot of people can relate to being really close to a grandparent and feeling that they understand you more than most. Millie was that person for me. When I was two years old, my mom was hospitalized for a couple of months with a broken ankle, so I stayed with Millie while she recovered. We both lived in Chicago.
Parenting refers to all activities that support children's development, including their physical growth, their cognitive learning, and their emotional well-being. It is shaped by the interplay between parent and child.
"If you spoke to my father, it was just a normal guy just speaking like I'm speaking to you now. But when my dad got pissed off that's when Frank Rizzo came out."
The game that stands out for me, as a fan, was Leinster versus Munster at Croke Park in 2009. It was probably my first big memory of Leinster.
