Author: Stephanie Ortiz

Woman in 80s outfit talking on corded phone, embodying retro pop culture vibes If I Taught 80s Pop Culture
🩵 Finding Extraordinary

If I Taught 80s Pop Culture

Stephanie Ortiz2 Comments

Yale-Approved “Come on, it’s fun,” I said, mostly listening to every 80s song I ever loved streaming in the background. “If you had to teach a class, what would it be?” Skylar groaned. “Let’s talk about something else.” “I don’t know,” her boyfriend said, trying to make a good impression. “This is hard.” Alexandra stared… Continue reading If I Taught 80s Pop Culture

Skylar singing the National Anthem at the Sixers game—living out her Taylor Swift dream at age 11. From 13 to 31: Outgrowing Taylor Swift’s Lucky Number
💜 Grown-Up Dreams

From 13 to 31: Outgrowing Taylor Swift’s Lucky Number

Stephanie Ortiz2 Comments

Sometimes our children’s dreams begin with someone else’s magic number, only to discover their own constellation along the way. And this is really a story about outgrowing lucky numbers—the ones we chase, the ones we inherit, and the ones our kids eventually outgrow. The Power of 13: When Dreams Take Root My ten-year-old daughter Skylar… Continue reading From 13 to 31: Outgrowing Taylor Swift’s Lucky Number

Couple seated on airplane reenacting their first meeting nine years earlier on USAir Flight 1047, with gold text overlay reading ‘Lucky in Love.’ A Lucky in Love Story Found on a USAir Flight
🧡 Legend Making

A Lucky in Love Story Found on a USAir Flight

Stephanie Ortiz3 Comments

I’m Not In Love Yet, Caught Behind A Video I used to think luck was finding a four-leaf clover or having a lucky number. Mine was a middle seat on Flight 1047 to South Carolina and a stranger named Alex who made the first joke: “We spend more time on the ground than we do… Continue reading A Lucky in Love Story Found on a USAir Flight