Sometimes I think I’m meant for pain, and she for me. She is my cruelest companion, and yet my most passionate form of expression. I can always depend on her for a good cry, an inspired project, even the longing for what matters most. I am nothing without her. This past year has been inexplicably… Continue reading The Loud Silence
After allowing my students to listen to their finale song for our end of the year dance show, I asked them this very simple question: “What do you think it means to be human?” I got so many beautiful responses, I wanted to share a few. “For life to break you apart and for you… Continue reading Humanity
Today marks my 5 year anniversary of starting Topical Steroid Withdrawal. To think I’ve carried this around for half a decade is mind boggling, but as a friend once told me, “perhaps you were born for such a time as this (Esther 4:14).” I’ve always wanted to believe that. And if I am meant to… Continue reading Inevitably
I was looking for an outlet tonight and I started to scroll through a slew of memes and quotes (naturally), and funnily enough, one told me to grab a cup of hot chocolate. I quickly remembered that I had a random pack of cocoa mix sitting in my bag from work. I snatched it up,… Continue reading Just as I Am
This month is Eczema Awareness Month. Years ago I never would have believed such a thing existed. Who needs awareness about eczema? Having lived with TSW, Topical Steroid Withdrawal, for over 4.5 years now, my view has drastically changed. Millions of people are stricken with eczema and there is such a large stigma around it.… Continue reading The One Worth Knowing
“And when that doesn’t happen, you heal yourself. You find strength in things other than people. You find energy in your solitude, you find hope in your daydreams. You build yourself up, tell yourself that you don’t need anyone to save you, that you don’t need anyone to steady your foundation. But you do.” As… Continue reading The Juggle Struggle
They say we either write when we are falling in love, or falling apart. I can not say, without dramatic use, that I am either, but it often times feels like the latter. I retreated to a watery refuge yesterday. For some reason, when I’m in the water, it’s as if it quiets all the… Continue reading Be The Wilderness
4 years. 209 weeks. 1,462 days. of loss. of confusion. of fear. of battle scars. of thunderous, terrifying purpose. Looking back to Day 1, when hopes were high and knowledge was scarce, it is miraculous to see how far this journey has taken me. I am not the same person. Sometimes that makes me sad… Continue reading 4 Years
It’s almost compulsory for a writer to reflect on their past and contemplate who they are, how they’ve grown, and what they predict for the future/what troubles they can exonerate from entering the new year. We look to a non-existent compass because no one has all the answers. Life is not a straightforward path, nor… Continue reading Only in Tennis
“Miss, are you you sick?” “Yes, I am.” “I can tell because your neck is red.” I didn’t have the energy or, quite frankly, composure to tell an 11-year-old student that my obnoxious cold has nothing to do with why I’m a red, blotchy disaster. At 44 months T.S.W. and succumbing to the plague that… Continue reading The Threadless Labyrinth
