Whether it's deeply personal journeys or laugh-out-loud reflections on life's frustrations, TODAY has been proud to share essays of lessons learned from all types of human experience. Here are some of our favorites from 2024 that will give you some chuckles, wisdom and empathy heading into the new year.
Writer Jillian Pretzel shared how she watched in horror as the cake she delivered for her friend's wedding was all smushed in its box before a realization hit her: "Subconsciously, I might have done this on purpose." Her friend was moving to another city after the wedding, which was tough for Pretzel to handle. However, there was a happy ending for the cake — and their friendship.
A conversation with a cousin after his father's death prompted Kevin More to take a genetic test that led to a stunning discovery: The people he knew as his parents were actually his adoptive parents. He learned at 47 that he had a whole other biological family, including a father he'd unknowingly seen on television hundreds of times. "I'll never know why they kept my adoption a secret, but I'm grateful for everything they did for me," he wrote.
It's not only the emotional essays that hit home, but also the funny ones about life's twists and turns, like this story from writer Sheryl Berk. She describes how her "great expectations" as an empty nester with her husband got derailed when he became "addicted" to pickleball. She gave the sport a try herself and was confounded about why he was so obsessed with it. Berk did find a silver lining, though: "In the end, relationships are better and stronger if each person has things they do on their own."
Scholar Amy Banks was by her sister's side when the sister decided to end her life by voluntary assisted death after being diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer. Banks reflected on the emotional time leading up to her sister Kate's death in Switzerland, including a heart-wrenching family meal and the poems they read Kate in her final moments.
The thought of a 5-year-old F-bombing while playing with his toys might seem jarring. However, writer Samantha Mann, who admittedly loves some profanity herself, allows her son to curse — with one crucial rule. "Who knows, maybe we're fostering long-term useful characteristics in him," she wrote. See why.
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