A Little Chutzpah Goes a Long Way

Emily Abigail Waife summoned up a bit of chutzpah in 2013, after talking it over with friends. She wanted to tell Eli Michael Kaufman she had feelings for him. “I always thought he was funny and I loved his passion for Judaism,” said Ms. Waife, a paternal great-great granddaughter of Sholem Aleichem, the Yiddish author…

Don’t Hate Me, but I Hate My Job

Send questions about the office, money, careers and work-life balance to workfriend@nytimes.com. Include your name and location, or a request to remain anonymous. Letters may be edited. When a Summer Job Feels Wrong I’m an undergraduate, and I’ve been discussing with my friends: Is it wrong to get a summer job? One of our concerns…

As He Cut My Hair, I Wept

A few weeks ago, I gave myself a crew cut. I didn’t know how long it would be before I could visit a barber and figured I might as well do it myself. I took my electric clippers into the backyard of our house on Martha’s Vineyard, where we live year-round. It didn’t take long,…