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• I always thought college was worth the money, but now I’m in $100,000 of student loan debt.
• I live under the crushing weight of student loan debt, and it’s a constant source of stress.
• Although I question if college was worth it, I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without it.

When I was growing up, my mom told me that education is never wasted. I was fortunate to grow up in a household where college was on the table.

Having graduated from high school one year early, I started my associate degree shortly after my 17th birthday. For two years, I studied zoo technology. Upon graduating, I decided to transfer to a four-year school to pursue my bachelor’s degree. I went on to study biology and chemistry, but after one semester, I changed majors to exercise science and minored in wilderness education.

Changing majors and minors required me to take on additional credits to meet the requirements of my new degree track. Another three years went by, and I graduated with my B.S.

I enjoyed school — learning had always felt exciting. So, I decided to pursue a master’s degree. Two semesters later, the weight of my student loans began to creep up on me. Payments would soon be approaching, and I couldn’t focus on anything but the amount of money I would have to fork over.

I was getting myself into a hole I knew I would never be able to climb out of. I withdrew from the program a few weeks later in an effort to avoid taking out additional loans.

Crippling student debt now haunts me

I was just a kid when I started taking out student loans. I was eager to leave high school and begin my college journey, as most teenagers are. I knew I’d have debt to pay off down the road, but I wasn’t expecting my debt to be so extreme at such a young age,

The majority of my debt is owed to a private student loan company with astronomical interest rates. Now, I’m left with overwhelming monthly payments and two degrees that I’m not using. I’m a writer; I haven’t stepped inside a zoo in years, and I never did use my exercise science degree.

My initial quote for a monthly student loan bill was roughly $1,570. Several tearful phone calls later, and after falling behind on payments, my loan company was willing to shave $1,000 off my monthly payments. This is only a temporary solution, however; the amount due will spike back up.

In private loans, I owe just over $107,000. Income-driven repayment plans are not available through my issuer, and refinancing is not an option for many. There is little help out there for those going through private companies. By the time you realize you’re in trouble, it’s too late.

Was college worth it?

I think back to what my mom told me about education never being wasted, and I do stand by that statement. Had I not gone to college, I am certain I would not have found a career in writing. My path to becoming a writer has been anything but traditional, but attending college allowed me to experience a variety of career paths and find where I truly belong.

I will forever be haunted by student debt, and it’s a very real possibility that I will never live my adult life debt-free. That pains me.

Every time I go to make a payment, I question my decision to go to college in the first place. I’ve always been frugal due to severe anxiety about money, even in high school, but now it’s exacerbated.

I’m teaching myself how to live a fulfilling life even with debt following me everywhere I go. Happiness and debt do not go hand in hand, but the only way out is through.

If I could go back in time and do it all over again, I’d still choose to attend college, but with micro-adjustments. This was a part of my journey to becoming a writer, and if I were to change anything about my path, I suspect I wouldn’t be doing what I do today.

• I made Ina Garten’s favorite weeknight pasta for dinner.
• The dish features classic Italian ingredients like bucatini, pecorino cheese, and pancetta.
• Garten’s pasta only took 30 minutes, perfect after a long day at work.

Every chef has a go-to weeknight pasta.

Gordon Ramsay loves whipping up a 10-minute turkey and leek pasta every week for his kids. Ina Garten prefers a more Italian style, one with bucatini, pancetta, and pecorino.

“Everyone needs a few quick pasta dinners in their repertoire, and this one is really adaptable,” Garten wrote in “Go-To Dinners,” her most recent cookbook. “It’s wonderful as is, but you could also serve it with veal meatballs one night and with a big dollop of ricotta the next.”

I love whipping up Garten’s pastas — I’ve even ranked them — so I knew I had to try this.

• An Alabama animal shelter is suing to block a massive AI data center project in Birmingham.
• The Greater Birmingham Humane Society alleges the city and developers bypassed zoning rules.
• AI data centers have been drawing pushback from communities across the country.

An Alabama animal shelter is barking back against a massive AI data center that’s under construction next to its planned veterinary hospital campus in Birmingham.

The Greater Birmingham Humane Society filed a lawsuit earlier this month in a bid to block the project, alleging that the city of Birmingham, AL, and developers engaged in a “months-long scheme” to greenlight it by sidestepping zoning rules.

The lawsuit, filed in Jefferson County Circuit Court, says that the four-month review for building permits for the more than $2 billion facility moved at “lightning speed” compared with the 18-month review for the nonprofits’ planned $67 million campus.

Entities of Nebius Group, the Amsterdam-headquartered AI infrastructure company behind the data center project, “coordinated” with the city to “abuse legal processes and manipulate timelines to fast-track a favored project without due process, regard for the law, or public welfare,” the lawsuit alleges.

A Nebius spokesperson told Business Insider that the project was “permitted lawfully in this commercial district and Nebius has followed the same rules that apply to everyone else in Birmingham.”

“The facility has also been thoughtfully designed and responsibly developed with measures including acoustical sound walls, grid power, and closed-loop cooling, among other areas,” the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for the city of Birmingham said the city does not comment on ongoing litigation.

The humane society’s lawsuit says that the organization previously notified the city and its zoning board that the data center project “could deprive” it “of the planned use of its property because of noise that may interfere with its operations and be harmful to animals and humans.”

The data center is being built about 160 feet from the property line of GBHS’s future animal welfare campus, which is expected to include an adoption center, outdoor rehabilitation areas, and foster facilities, the nonprofit said.

“This case is not about whether data centers should exist,” Allison Black Cornelius, the president and CEO of the GBHS, said in a statement. “It is about whether a project of this size and character should move forward in this location without the legal questions surrounding its approval first being resolved.”

Cornelius added, “We believe neighboring institutions, nonprofit organizations, residents, and the broader community deserve confidence that the applicable laws and procedures have been followed.”

Nebius’ data center has also drawn separate legal action from area residents, according to local media reports.

The pushback comes amid growing community opposition to AI data center projects nationwide, driven by concerns about their environmental and economic impacts.

According to the research project Data Center Watch, at least 75 data center proposals worth an estimated $130 billion were delayed or blocked during the first three months of 2026 because of local opposition.

As of May, there were at least 430 local Facebook groups with more than 525,000 members fighting back against AI data centers, according to the Data Center Opposition Report, which tracks local opposition to the projects.

• I sailed on Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas, one of the largest cruise ships in the world.
• It can hold up to 7,000 guests and has eight “neighborhoods” with activities and amenities.
• The ship was even bigger than I imagined. Here’s a tour of the 18 decks and all the venues.

With 18 decks to wander, I felt like I was in a small town in the middle of the ocean.

In April 2022, I took my first cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas.

Back then, Wonder of the Seas was the largest cruise ship in the world. Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas took over the title in January 2024. Then, in July 2026, the cruise line debuted an even larger ship, Legend of the Seas.

Step aboard the Wonder of the Seas, complete with eight “neighborhoods” full of activities.

• I tried seven air-fryer sandwich recipes. All were delicious, but there’s one I’d skip next time.
• I especially loved my air-fryer meatball sub, Monte Cristo, and chicken Caprese panini. 
• The air fryer is great for grilled cheese, but I wouldn’t add mac and cheese to it in the future.

If you love toasty sandwiches but want to avoid using a grill, oven, or stovetop, the air fryer is about to be your best friend.

For one, I’ve made countless things in my air fryer, from corn “ribs” to chocolate-chip cookies, and have rarely been let down. I can also confirm that using an air fryer to make sandwiches results in crunchy, delicious magic — but some recipes are more worth the effort than others. 

So, I made seven sandwiches in my air fryer to see which would earn a spot in my regular meal rotation. Here’s how it went.

I started off by making a meatball sub

I started my week with a meatball-sub recipe from the food blog Project Meal Plan.

First, to make the meatballs, I used my hands to combine ingredients such as ground pork, ground beef, pesto, breadcrumbs, eggs, and seasonings.

I rolled the meat mixture into balls and placed them on a cookie sheet lined with a piece of foil coated with cooking spray. I placed these in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.

By the time they came out of the oven, they looked pretty tasty. To be clear, if I wanted to skip this step, the recipe says frozen meatballs would be fine as well.

A toasted bun is a necessity with a sub

I used a brioche hot-dog bun as a substitute for a hoagie roll.

I placed a buttered bun in the preheated air fryer at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for two minutes, then topped it with fresh mozzarella and cooked it until the cheese was toasty.

As this toasted, I warmed up a bit of tomato sauce for later. Once my cheesy bun was ready, I topped it with meatballs and sauce.

This was a satisfying sandwich

This sub was delicious, filling, and worth the effort. 

The bun was toasty and golden brown, the cheese was nicely melted, and the meatballs were extra tasty thanks to the pesto and seasonings in the mixture.

I would absolutely make this again.

At first, the mac-and-cheese toastie didn’t make much sense to me 

Next, I decided to step out of my comfort zone with a sandwich I’d never had before. I followed food blogger Oh My Veggies‘ recipe for a grilled cheese that includes a portion of cooked mac and cheese.

To start, I buttered two slices of bread and topped one with a slice of cheddar. I also piled some pre-cooked mac and cheese in the middle.

I stuck my sandwich in a preheated air fryer at 360 degrees Fahrenheit for about three or four minutes on each side. 

This unique sandwich came out tasty and cheesy

This tasted delicious and, for those who love cheese, it’s definitely a winner. If you plan to make this, I suggest using thicker bread to hold the mac and cheese better. 

I still prefer my mac and cheese and grilled cheese separate, but this recipe can also be used to make a basic sandwich. 

When I followed this recipe without macaroni, it came out cheesy, crunchy, and buttery. This was an easy way to make grilled cheese without having to get a pan out and wait to fry both sides.

The chicken Caprese panini turned out to be one of my favorites

For this sandwich, I followed a recipe from the food blog Cook the Story. 

To start, I butterflied a chicken breast, put salt and pepper on both sides, and air-fried it for 13 minutes total at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, flipping halfway through.

Next, I mixed equal parts mayonnaise and pesto to create my sauce and stop my sandwich from being too dry.

To finish prepping my ingredients, I thinly sliced my tomatoes and mozzarella.

I quickly assembled this sandwich and popped it in the air fryer

I slathered my pesto-mayo mixture on both sides of the roll, placed the chicken on one side, and topped it with sliced tomatoes and mozzarella.

I placed it in the air fryer, sprayed the bread with oil, and cooked it for five minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Midway through air-frying, I gently pressed the sandwich down to create a panini effect.

This was the perfect combination of crunchiness, cheesiness, and juiciness 

This was so juicy thanks to the well-cooked chicken. The melty mozzarella added the perfect cheesy touch, and the pesto-mayo mixture added so much herby flavor.

Overall, the sandwich was filling and delicious. Although it was big, it stayed together perfectly in the air fryer and didn’t fall apart as I ate it.

To switch things up, I tried making a classic sausage, egg, and cheese

For my next sandwich, I set my sights on breakfast. I followed a since-deleted recipe from a random food blog I’d found online to make this, but it’s so simple that I’m not sure I needed one at all.

First, I broke apart an English muffin, buttered both sides, and topped one with a slice of cheddar cheese. Both halves went into my air-fryer basket along with a pre-cooked sausage patty.

I air-fried my sandwich ingredients at 390 degrees Fahrenheit for three minutes — until the muffin got toasty, the sausage warmed, and the cheese melted.

Then, I microwaved an egg in a mug for about 90 seconds, checking on it every 30 seconds, until it was solid and cooked. This would go between my English-muffin slices to complete the sandwich.

This breakfast sandwich was delicious and turned out perfectly

Taste-wise, this was a hit. I could see myself getting a breakfast sandwich like this from a restaurant or deli. The flavors were balanced, and the cheese, butter, and slightly jammy egg stopped it from being too dry.

Making this with an air fryer (and microwave) felt much simpler than toasting the bread, cooking the patty, and frying an egg separately.

This is also really easy to dress up with hot sauce or different cheeses and meats. I think bacon could work really well instead of sausage.

All in all, it’s a tasty and easy breakfast sandwich that can definitely be thrown together on busy mornings.

This was my first time making a Monte Cristo sandwich

I loosely followed an air-fryer Monte Cristo recipe from food blogger The Typical Mom. I opted to use Gouda cheese, which I think is tastier than cheddar or Swiss, and not include turkey slices.

First, I assembled a simple sandwich with my bread of choice, sliced ham, and aged Gouda.

Once my sandwich was assembled, I pressed it down with my hand and secured it with four toothpicks, per the recipe’s instructions.

I also had to make pancake batter for this recipe

A Monte Cristo is a sweet-and-savory sandwich that’s usually dipped in egg and cooked sort of like a French toast. For this air-fryer recipe, that sweet crispiness would come from a layer of pancake batter.

I followed the directions on my buttermilk pancake mix, but used a little less liquid to keep my batter on the thicker side. This way, the sandwich would be easier to evenly coat.

I dipped the sandwich in the batter and made sure to let the excess drip off. Then, I placed the dipped sandwich onto a parchment-paper liner I had punctured several times to ensure airflow. Into my air fryer it went.

I air-fried the sandwich for seven minutes on one side, then flipped and cooked for a minute more at 380 degrees Fahrenheit.

I wish I’d used cooking spray before putting the sandwich in the fryer, since it stuck a bit when I flipped it. Still, it stayed mostly intact.

Once it was golden brown and ready, I opted not to dust my sandwich with powdered sugar as the recipe suggests — but I’m sure that would have been delicious.

This was super tasty and worth the effort

My sandwich was indulgent, filling, and extra tasty thanks to the coating of pancake batter that created a crunchy, buttery exterior.

Each bite was a cheesy and satisfying experience. In general, any Monte Cristo variation feels like a great sandwich to make in an air fryer.

Lastly, I made a basic sandwich using leftover produce

For this produce-packed sandwich, I improvised after reading a few different recipes online.

I started by air-frying sliced mushrooms for five minutes at 390 degrees Fahrenheit, then setting them aside. You can also add other produce, like bell peppers, during this step — anything you want to cook a little longer.

I assembled the sandwich by spreading pesto on both pieces of bread, then layering cheddar cheese, cooked mushrooms, and sliced cherry tomatoes.

I sprayed the bread with cooking spray so it’d get crispy and golden brown, then popped it in the air fryer.

I air-fried the sandwich at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for just a few minutes, until the bread was golden-brown, the tomatoes had blistered, and the cheese was melted.

This recipe is a great way to use up leftovers

This customizable veggie sandwich of sorts was tasty and simple. It could easily be made with a variety of cheeses, spreads, or leftover produce.

Next time, I’d use a heariter sourdough bread to better stand up to the contents of my sandwich. It started to fall apart a little bit as I ate.

The top of my sandwich blew off in the air fryer before it was done, so I’d also put cheese on both slices of bread in the future. Melty cheese is truly what binds a sandwich together.

Overall, I’d make 6 of these sandwiches again

Each air-fryer sandwich was easy to make and yielded a melty, toasty result that might otherwise require a panini maker to make.

My favorites were the meatball sub and chicken Caprese, both of which could easily be the star components of a full meal.

I wouldn’t make the mac-and-cheese grilled cheese again, but I can see a lot of others enjoying it. Fortunately, the tasty recipe is easy to adapt, and I think it’s great without the pasta.

All in all, after a week of making these, I’m confident you can pretty much air-fry any sandwich to make it extra hot, crispy, and delicious.

This story was originally published on January 25, 2022, and most recently updated on July 26, 2026.

• Elliot Marsh is a 47-year-old dad in London with a 3-year-old daughter.
• Having been raised with a brother, he found having a daughter a mystery.
• He attended an event in a pub where he learned to braid his daughter’s hair.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Elliot Marsh. It has been edited for length and clarity.

When I found out my wife and I were having a little girl following IVF, I was absolutely delighted. We had spent years hoping to have a baby, and would finally be welcoming one into our family.

While over the moon to be expecting a girl, I also felt I was entering the unknown. Growing up, it was just my brother and me. My brother went on to have boys, so all I knew were boys.

Raising a girl was a mystery to me, but also an adventure I couldn’t wait for.

I love being a girl dad

She’s 3 now, and I’m loving being a girl dad, but I don’t have a clue what I’m doing a lot of the time.

Without any pressure or pushing from us, she has grown to love ballet, Peppa Pig, fairies, princesses, dresses that twirl, and cute hairstyles. I know it’s just the start of her interests diverging from mine.

I don’t know much about her current or future interests, but I want to be able to fully share in her excitement for them. I want her to feel she can talk to me about anything — for her to know I care about what she cares about.

More seriously, as she ages, gets her period, has a boyfriend, and deals with any number of issues that will come her way, I want to already have a line of communication open between the two of us. I don’t want her to feel at all embarrassed to talk to me.

But it isn’t only for her that I want this relationship; it’s for me, too. I want to have a strong connection with my daughter, and I know that starts now.

I joined a group of dads to learn how to do my daughter’s hair

In April, I saw an advertisement on social media for “Pints and Ponytails.” At face value, it’s about dads learning how to do their daughters’ hair — ponytails and braids. It looked like fun and would be a valuable skill for me to learn. If I could do my daughter’s hair, I’d take an interest in what was important to her and get a chance to have a chat with her in the process.

I showed up at a private room in a pub, and there were 20 mannequins on the tables. Each dad had a drink as we sat down, and the guys hosting it showed how to do various braids.

While learning to braid was valuable, it wasn’t the best part of the evening. What I appreciated most was having a space to talk about being a dad with other dads.

I got to chat with other dads about parenting

There were a few guided questions to get conversations started. I remember one question being: What’s the most difficult thing about being a parent? Most of us said we felt we were spread too thin. We have to be everything to everybody all the time — to be a good husband, son, parent, employer, employee, provider, and so on. Amid those roles, we start to feel lost as individuals.

We discussed aspects of parenting we loved most, and the cultural movement we are seeing — that dads desperately want to be active and involved as parents. Dads are showing up for their kids — for their daughters — and we need spaces to speak about the joys and the challenges, and about our feelings as we parent.

I had never had a context like this to talk so freely with other dads. It was an intentional, lighthearted, fun, constructive night — that’s why it works so well for dads. It’s the perfect format to connect with guys.

Since that night, I’ve been doing my daughter’s hair nearly every day. She’s jumping all over the place when I do it — the trick is to keep her still — but I can do the double ponytail and the braid now.

It’s a lovely bonding moment we share every day, and one I hope continues for years, building a foundation that will help our relationship last forever.