As families and friends waited at the front of the Performing Arts Community Center Saturday evening, David Corkill, going on his second year of managing Waco’s Got Talent, motivated performers ranging from young to old.

It is not uncommon to hear someone say, half-laughing, that they didn’t even last a week. The remark is meant to be humorous, but it reveals something deeper. Failure in Lent has become social embarrassment rather than spiritual reflection. Success has become a badge of religious credibility. The language of repentance has been replaced by the language of achievement.

Whether you want to admit it or not, sex can never truly be casual. Even so, undergraduates routinely turn to it in college, as they seek after the “college experience,” in an effort to cure their own feelings of loneliness.

Friendship in 2026 has been complicated, to say the least. Loyalty often feels temporary, and delayed replies seem to come with an expiration date — even with missed calls and unread text messages. Only one thing remains constant: dogs.