Point of View

A Colorblind Culture

UNITED STATES—In honor of the great teachings of Civil Rights Leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I only found it fitting this week to write a column highlighting what Mr. King hoped for one day in America. He was petulant in his message about not judging people by the color of their skin, but by the content of their...

Sherman Oaks Now Home To Yasiel Puig

SHERMAN OAKS—Yasiel Puig Valdés (known simply as Yasiel Puig), a 24-year-old Cuban outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, has reportedly purchased a $1.8 million home in a gated Sherman Oaks community. The two-story, 4,663-square-foot home sits behind tall Palm trees and a privacy wall. At the entrance of the Mediterranean-style residence is a stone-floored domed skylight foyer with a wrought iron...

President Obama Unveils His Agenda

UNITED STATES—The President of the United States of America, Barack Obama held his State of the Union Address on Tuesday, January 20. There was quite a bit that the President had on his agenda that he wanted to express to Congress and America, with only two more years left on his term. Did we learn anything that we didn’t expect...

Cultural Secret #2 Boys Are Better

LOS ANGELES—Freedom and opportunity led my parents to America. Once they arrived, they built an American Dream upon a foundation of their native cultural beliefs and ideals, loads of love, and a sense of liberal freedom. My mother valued the freedom she never experienced in Lebanon. And yet, she remained tied to her cultural secrets. She firmly believed the...

Cultural Secret #1: What’s My Identity?

What trials face the young Lebanese woman and strapping Irish lad who find themselves in love in the heart of Los Angeles? Born the youngest of four first-generation American children, my siblings and I shared parents with strong, independent cultural values. But in spite of our biracial heritage, my mother's Lebanese values reigned supreme in our upbringing. Cultural clash was commonplace,...

Cultural Secret: Boys Are Better

BEL AIR—Freedom and opportunity led my parents to America. Once they arrived, they built an American Dream upon a foundation of their native cultural beliefs and ideals, loads of love, and a sense of liberal freedom. My mother valued the freedom she never experienced in Lebanon. And yet, she remained tied to her cultural secrets. She firmly believed the...

Perfection 101

UNITED STATES—Have you ever heard the phrase, “It has to be perfect?” Of course you have, I think we all have. The idea of perfection is something that we must all aim for, but are we creating an expectation that is impossible to achieve? Its something that many of us hear from our parents, our teachers, our bosses, our family,...

Working In Management

UNITED STATES—Throughout my career I’ve learned something of great importance: be careful what you wish for! The idea of being your own boss or working in management is not as ‘great’ as some would like to perceive. How do I know this? Well I've known a lot of people who worked in management positions, only to find themselves bumping...

Cultural Secret: What’s My Identity?

BEL AIR—What happens when a pretty Lebanese immigrant falls in love with a handsome Irish immigrant in Los Angeles? .... a slightly confused me! Born the youngest of four first-generation American children, my siblings and I shared parents with strong, independent cultural values. But in spite of our biracial heritage, my mother's Lebanese values reigned supreme in our upbringing. Cultural clash...

Money Management 101

UNITED STATES—It’s 2015, and it’s almost a given we’ve all made resolutions that might have already been broken. Then again some of us might have had those resolutions stick (at the current moment). One of my resolutions was to get my finances in order. Yes, money the root of all evil, but at the same time the one thing...