This is a photo of my mom and me in Paris in 1978. She's barely 21 here, and I'm about four. When I look at this photo, I can't believe how strong she must have been back then. At the time, she was just starting her career in a tiny Paris salon. She worked long hours, then came home and played with me until we both passed out from exhaustion. Unfortunately for her, I didn't stay this adorable. By the time I became a wayward teenager, my mother owned her own business, Dominiqu

When I first came to Washington D.C. from Paris twenty years ago, I fell in love with the city. The French architecture made me feel a little less homesick. I loved playing soccer on the mall with people from everywhere in the world. While a lot of people on the outside see Washington as a cold and brutal political town, the truth is, it's actually the opposite. Over the last two decades I've met the most interesting and dedicated people who are here because they care a lot a