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I have a confession to make: I racially profile people on the subway. Now, before you start judging me and call me a horribly racist person, hear me out.When I'm on the N train headed into Manhattan, I'm often tired as a mother of two young children. Usually, it's crowded so I do whatever it takes to strategize in order to get a seat on the train. Here's what goes through my mind: Canal Street is coming up. It's likely that an Asian person who is currently sitting down will get off the train at Canal Street. The reason being that Canal Street is the center of Chinatown and one of these people could possibly be heading to this predominantly Asian neighborhood.So (and this is going to sound awful admitting this) I stand near an Asian person that I think may be getting off the train at Canal Street. I hold the pole and carefully (not too obviously) look at them and see if they are holding their bag or if they look like they might be getting ready to exit the train so I can quickly take their seat.Let me clarify something, this has very little to do with [...]

My whole life I've been told things like "you're too intense" or "you're so dramatic" or even "I can't handle you."These words were spoken to me "you need to learn to modulate your emotions."I was left wondering what that even meant when I heard it. But the truth is, as I said, I've heard it my entire life. People seem to believe that emotions are scary and when I express anything that feels like an emotion often I've frightened people.I'm not a scary person, I promise you. I am, however, a sensitive person.When I was a little girl and I would cry, my mom would hold me and say "It's okay Saree, you're very sensitive. You're an artist. Artists are sensitive." She would speak into my ear while she stroked my hair."I hate it." I would say. "I wish I wasn't sensitive. I wish I was like everyone else.""But it's wonderful to be sensitive." My mother would tell me. "It's a gift. Not everyone feels like you. Cherish it."I wanted to believe her so badly, but I was so overcome with emotion most of the time that I felt the exact opposite. I felt ruled by my own sadness, anger, [...]

I met a woman named Marilyn yesterday. She was a 78 year-old Aquarius and she changed my life.I went to visit a good friend of mine. Marilyn was her neighbor. We sat in her apartment while she smoked a cigarette and listened to me cry.I cried about how hard it is to be a sensitive person. I cried at the thought that my mother was the only person who truly ever loved me. She nurtured me from the time I was in utero and she continues to care for me. I told Marilyn that I have no doubt if it wasn't for my incredible mother, I would not be here on this earth today. Tears streamed down my face.I sat there, telling her about the hurt. How I want to be understood. How I want others to give me support, care, love and all the things I give to them.Marilyn's answer was simple. She took a drag of her cigarette and looked at me."You cannot love anyone until you love yourself and G-d."I stared into her deep eyes as she sat back in her arm chair. I could see the wisdom in her eyes penetrating."You have to lead with love." [...]

My daughter is three-years-old. She's scared of absolutely nothing and no one. She's wild, free, daring and a fire cracker. I love her spirit.I see her. I truly see who she is at this young age. She's a force to be reckoned with. She's a strong little girl. One day, she will grow up to be a strong young woman. I can't wait to see that evolution take place.Right now, however, her strength is interpreted various ways by society. Often people will refer to my daughter as "bossy," "demanding," "wild" or worse "a brat."I'll tell you what my daughter is, she's assertive. She knows what she wants and she is not afraid (even at the young age of three) to get it. That's a skill to be proud of. That's a quality that needs to be nurtured and honed. This aspect of her personality should not be dulled, it should be harnessed and used for good.My girl is a born leader. When people come up to me on the street and remark that my child is "wild," I often come back at them and say "that's okay, one day she's going to be the C.E.O of a large corporation. You [...]

In 2011 I lost my mind. After I had Samara, I remember sitting in a hospital bed hysterically crying. When she would cry, I would cry. It hurt to nurse her. Every time I placed her on my breast to nurse I felt my uterus contracting and I yelped in pain like a puppy that had its paw stepped on.I told my brother in the hospital when he visited "I don't know how I'm going to do this. I'm scared.""Don't worry," he assured me, "mom and dad will help you if you need them to." His words reassured me, but I was still scared. I was afraid to be a mother of two. I'd had Ari for almost three years and he was my one and only. I doted on him, I read to him, we painted colorful watercolor works of art together and we went out to eat muffins and juice frequently.But now things were going to change. I had a new little person to take care of and add to our family. I had a little girl. She was beautiful and squishy and pink and I loved her immediately. However, I had no idea how I could love [...]

Thanks to the land of Twitter I was introduced to Dusty Katt and Screwball, two awesome bronies who run the show Stay Brony My Friends. Dusty asked if Ari and I would like to be on SBMF. I asked Ari and he excitedly said yes! Here's our interview where I talk about 80's cartoons, My Little Pony (of course), bullying, my love for Neil Gaiman, Daria and much much more. Dusty asked me prior to the show what charity I would like the bronies to raise money for. Ari and I chose the Coalition for The Homeless. His response was "we're on it!" I love this dude!One heads up, my voice is loud because I'm a theater actress so prepare your volume for that. Thank you Dusty and Screwball for having me. I had an awesome time!

I have two children. Before I had kids, everyone warned me about the terrible twos. Watch out, when your kid turns two they become wild and uncontrollable. All they say is "no" to everything and good luck, because that year is going to suck big time.Well, I am here to tell you that "everyone" was wrong. Two-year-olds are challenging, but they are no where near as hard to deal with as three-year-olds.I can tell you (from experience) having now dealt with two three-year-olds in my house, that they are undeniably the hardest humans on the face of the planet to negotiate with. The reason is, they don't give a fuck!My daughter is three. No matter what I tell her to do she does not fucking care. For example, I could tell her to put her pants on. She will insist that she is absolutely not (under any circumstances) wearing those pants because they are blue. "I want pink pants!" She will shout. I explain to her that there are no clean pink pants. I open the drawers and show her that they do not contain pink pants. She doesn't fucking care. She still wants the pink pants that do not [...]

2003Once upon a time there was a woman who worked as a professional cat sitter and dog walker. One day, she took on a cat sitting client on the Upper East Side of Manhattan to watch two cats. The woman who hired her to cat sit paid her $200 up front. A couple of days later the woman called the cat sitter and said "I need to cancel your services because I can't afford them." Unfortunately, the cat sitter had already used the money to pay her bills and she told the woman this.The woman then relented and told the cat sitter that she would go ahead and use her services. The woman then went on to ask the cat sitter if she knew anyone would want to adopt one or both of her cats. The cat sitter naively offered to foster one of her cats who will now be referred to as Henry. Henry was an adorable gray cat with a white goatee.The cat sitter went on to post an ad on craigslist asking if anyone was interested in adopting Henry. She received a reply from a lovely couple who lived in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The couple immediately loved Henry [...]

My daughter just turned three. She has a January birthday. I work as a substitute teacher and I thought it would be great for her to have some socialization and attend preschool. So I started researching pre-schools in Brooklyn.The most affordable preschool I could find was $1100 a month for five days a week 8am-4pm. Yes, you read correctly, over a grand a month. For $1100 in New York City you could rent a studio apartment in Ditmas Park or a one bedroom place in Clinton Hill.Something is wrong with this picture. Let's take it a step further. If you multiply $1100 by 12 months, you have the annual tuition for a "reasonably priced" preschool: $13,200 per year. Now, visit the website for the State University of New York - Albany. Annual tuition to attend SUNY Albany is $10,366.In New York City, it costs more to let a three-year-old socialize with other three-year-olds then it does to educate a college student. This is mind blowing. And it's not only about the cost. Let's say that I was able to pay $1100 a month to put my daughter in preschool, there's a wait list to get her in. Nursery schools are [...]

I'll admit it, I'm completely and utterly addicted to Facebook. I love keeping up with what my friends in other places around the world are doing and it's easy to do this by logging in and checking out what people are up to. I've noticed some common recurring themes since becoming a Facebook aficionado. Here's are the 10 most common Facebook statuses that you will come across: 1. Inspirational quote. Sometimes these are truly thought provoking and inspiring. Other times they are so cheesy you want to bang your head against the computer screen. 2. Passive Aggressive "feel sorry for me" status. "I'm all alone and my friends forgot about me. Feel sorry for me internet." 3. Bragging. "I just got a $75,000 a year job. I'm awesome, yo. I got my teeth whitened and I look like Cindy Crawford" 4. Pretending Facebook is Craig's List. "I'm looking for a roommate. Does anyone want this desk? Who wants to adopt my dog?" 5. Random brain dump status. "I want a cheese sandwich. What does the president actually do? Coffee is great!" 6. The "I love you man" status. "I just want to take a moment to let you guys know [...]

When I shared my story about living with panic disorder, I received so much positive feedback from people coping with various forms of mental illnesses. It was a wonderful feeling to be connected with others who have gone through similar trials in life.There's something else that needs to be addressed here: each person has to find their own way to manage anxiety. For me, a combination of cognitive behavior therapy, medication and daily meditation are the tools that help me to cope with panic disorder. These things may not work for you. Every person is different. I choose to take medication, but that doesn't mean I'm saying that people who don't take medicine are wrong. Taking psychiatric medication may not work for everyone. To each his own. If you feel that changing your diet helps you, then by all means do that. Some people benefit exclusively from talk therapy and choose not to take medication. Whatever works for you and helps you to be able to manage your anxiety and depression is what you should do. There is no magic bullet. There is no miraculous solution that cures anxiety. However, there are studied therapy techniques that do help.Do what you [...]