FIRST PERSON

My preference for buses puzzles some people. But consider the benefits of ditching your car.

By |

Compelling personal stories
told by the people living them. Each weekday, I wake up in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood, take two buses to reach Moon Township and walk about half a mile to get to my workplace. The whole commute takes between 60 and 90 minutes, and it perplexes just about everyone. My parents tried to talk me out of taking the bus; one of my coworkers has called my commute a trek; and, in the early days of this “trek,” my friends often asked me how my commute was going right after or instead of asking, “How are you?”

Why should the way I get to work garner so much attention? Though my parents often bike around my hometown in suburban Philadelphia, they drive when they need to make longer trips.

FIRST PERSON

It’s tough being a teacher — and even tougher living on a teacher’s salary

By |

I have been teaching in the Pittsburgh area for the past decade. I chose a career in public education because I couldn’t imagine a better way to change the world. Teachers educate and inspire the young people who will be the leaders of tomorrow. When I walk into my classroom, I’m witnessing the future take shape.

But it’s tough being a teacher, and it’s even tougher living on a teacher’s salary.

FIRST PERSON

Women my age weren’t called ‘autistic’ growing up. We were awkward or ‘rude.’ And we missed out on services.

By |

You know me. If you’re over the age of say, 40, chances are you went to school with a girl like me. I was more or less on even footing with you academically, but I struggled with everything else. My physical movements were often spastic and jerky. I blurted rather than talked. I couldn’t hold a pencil properly. I got upset when rules weren’t followed. I was eager to please; yet I sometimes said the dumbest, rudest thing possible.