Today I found myself talking to Adam about power struggles with my father, how my childhood -- and to a good degree, my adulthood -- is defined by his assessments of right and wrong.

Any time you talk to my father, you get treated to his opinion. Whether he's saying you did the right thing or what's wrong with you?, you always know where he stands. I was driving while I was telling Adam that and I found myself hitting the gas that much more assertively, steering with a firmer hand. "He always said I went to the wrong school," I said. "Not everyone wants to go to CCNY in fucking Harlem." I sounded defiant and I was glad.