By Raakhee Mirchandani for Shape Magazine

There are a lot of things that make me cry: The lyrics to Beyonce's "Brown Skin Girl," listening to my 6-year-old daughter sound out words as she learns to read, and that damn Sarah McLachlan ASPCA commercial. Now, I get why those make me cry: Beyonce is a queen, kids unlocking literature is the single greatest sound in the world, and "Angel" paired with adorable animals in cages who need our help is on the same level of emotional torture as every episode of This is Us.

So when I started crying while I was out on long runs, well, I didn't think much of it. I'm a crier; this is just who I am.

By Raakhee Mirchandani for Today Show Parents

Briana Lopez doesn’t know what her favorite TV show is, but she knows how to spell petechiae. That’s what happens when you’re diagnosed with cancer at just 11-years-old.

By Raakhee Mirchandani for Elle Magazine

Things never seem to move fast enough. People in the street walk too slowly. I always call a restaurant at least twice between the time the order is placed and my buzzer actually rings and no matter how hard I try, it takes me less than five minutes to inhale my lunch, each lettuce leaf hurtling like an express train down my throat. It's not ladylike, but it's effective.