Rory’s Blog

Strong Opinions, Held Loosely

  • Approaching Happiness

    In a recent interview with Arthur Brooks, a Happiness Scientist and professor at Harvard (he also recently published a book with Oprah), he distilled happiness into three elements: satisfaction, enjoyment, and meaning. Brooks’ thesis stuck with me as I reflected on my life and the lives of our students. 1. SATISFACTION This summer I installed…

  • In Defense Of The Minivan: An Open Letter To My Brother-In-Law As He Contemplates A Car Purchase

    Dear Scott, Unlike you, I’ve never been a car guy. Not only do I not understand how they work, I don’t understand what makes people so fascinated by them. Horsepower, dual torque, CarAssist – all of this jargon is lost on me. To be fair, my parents raised me on beaters; much like the first…

  • The Youth Sports Industrial Complex

    I’ve been meaning to send this one for several years, and the only reason it’s taken me this long is I know I’m going to eat my words. So there, I said it. This is more cathartic than anything. I don’t pretend to have the answers or even a sound argument. Tomorrow I might disagree…