When I ended up missing a story budgeting meeting at the start of the new issue cycle due to sickness, my editor-in-chief saddled me with what she saw as a much-needed break: a column about the British royal family. Despite my disdain for the topic, I begrudgingly ran with the story, and ended up with what I believe to be one of my best and most meaningful columns; after extensive research and deliberation, I even found it in me to empathize with the royals.
