There are many things to be in awe of when you enter “Dior: From Paris to the World” at the Dallas Museum of Art. From a cathedral-like room packed with remarkable designs to areas filled with the works of Dior himself, imagination runs abundant throughout the exhibit. Several pieces in particular caught my eye…the mood boards by current Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri. Mood boards (aka vision boards) let designers establish a theme for their lines with visual details and inspirations. It was then serendipitous that a review copy of Sarah Centrella’s book FutureBoards: Learn How to Create a Vision Board to Get Exactly the Life You Want came to my mailbox. Taking inspiration from mood boards, Centrella asks readers to take the concept further with what she dubs #FutureBoards. She defines them as a physical board (proudly displayed) that has beautiful photographs intentionally chosen to visually show the creator’s future dream life. Experiences Not Things What I appreciate most about Centrella’s concept is #FutureBoards focus on experiences and not things. Experiences matter because, as Centrella writes, “they teach you to focus on what brings you happiness and joy. When you are building your life around experiences, you are training your mind to seek happiness and receive joy. It’s one of the fastest ways for you to tap into a sensation of happiness at any given moment, by thinking of an experience you want to live. When you feel that happiness in your mind, you will soon manifest it in real life.” The book is divided into …

Those arguing #MeToo is losing steam are sorely mistaken. That’s the belief of best-selling author Linda Hirshman. Her latest book, Reckoning: The Epic Battle Against Sexual Abuse and Harassment, details the 50-year history of legal and cultural moments that precede #MeToo. It also serves as a reminder that the movement did not mysteriously happen overnight and makes sense of how this pivotal moment in American culture came to be. Hirshman spent her childhood in Cleveland, Ohio. Already reading by age four, it was women biographies that drew her to the local library. Favorites were stories on Clara Barton (founder of the American Red Cross), Julia Ward Howe (author of the Civil War anthem “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and co-founder of the American Woman Suffrage Association), and Lucy Stone (a prominent orator, abolitionist, and suffragist). Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women also made an impact. Years later Hirshman became a lawyer. In addition to a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and a Juris Doctorate from University of Chicago Law School, she received a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. “I wanted to do something where I could earn a substantial, reliable income,” Hirshman said. “Self-reliance has always been central to me.” SCOTUS, Teaching, Writing Hirshman appeared in three Supreme Court cases (one win, one loss and one draw). This includes the landmark case Garcia v. SAMTA, which defined the line between the federal government and the states. Next she went into academia. Hirshman taught at Brandeis University, Chicago Kent …

It’s back-to-school shopping time, which means things could be said in the dressing room that will make your blood run cold. No, not expletive language, but your daughter harshly criticizing her body. Witnessing a child unleash physical self-deprecation can break a parent’s heart. After all, it’s no secret consistently putting down one’s appearance harms social, physical, and emotional growth. So what’s a caregiver to do in a world filled to the brim with doctored “perfect” images? For starters, understand that self-esteem and body image are two separate things. Self-esteem is how we think and feel about ourselves as a total package. Body image is how we think and feel about our body; it’s just one piece of self-esteem. Here are five steps you can take to help girls accept and love their physical appearance: Know that how you personally view your body plays a role in how children see theirs. Do you stand in front of the mirror and nitpick everything you don’t like about your body? Your child will think she should do the same…that this behavior is part of growing up. Do not body bash yourself or make negative statements about the weight and body size of others (including celebrities). In addition, tell your daughter what you love most about your body. Express gratitude for the things it makes possible. Have a blunt talk about media’s depiction of girls and women, how advertising works, and the truth about altered images. A “perfect” body does not exist. Neither do magical products to make someone in real life …