I've told this story a hundred times, and each time it's different, though the logistics never change: a nerdy girl from Russia gets into one of the best US colleges to study applied math but midway through junior year changes her major to writing and then graduates. It's a boring story, so I

I often cry when I write. I write a lot in public. Therefore, I cry a lot in public. Amongst friends and family, I'm not actually much of a crier. Sure I'll cry in solidarity with almost anyone who cries in my presence, or when I'm steam-out-of-my-ears angry, but otherwise, I'm ...Continue

I had been pregnant for 11 months when I went into labor at the altar of my wedding. Whisked from the sanctuary into a small room, I stripped down to my pink bustier and was helped up onto a gurney. "I'm right here, honey," my handsome groom said, tenderly caressing my forehead. Our guests waited

I've always wanted to be Carrie Bradshaw. Before you tell me how pathetic that is, I know. It's not a valiant quest or a life goal to be proud of. But TV has been my religion for a long time now, and I wanted to write about the shit she writes about, even if that makes me a loser. What Sex and the

Remember that feeling you get when you're on your way to making a childhood dream come true, and you'll stop at nothing to get it? For me, that memory brings back 2008, an unpaid internship at NYLON, a suitcase full of black H&M dresses, and $300. In many ways, that exact moment was a dream—the