-
The punches you can hardly catch
Her hunched back and distant gaze are a heartbreaking sight. Not the mom I grew up watching; the fast-paced, sharp, almost intimidating force of energy who could walk into a room and either fix your life or tell you exactly why it was falling apart. Or usually both, honestly. If you had told me in ’99 that by ’25 my mom would be a dependent version of herself, I would’ve laughed in your face. Loudly. Probably insulted you, too. Called you crazy…or maybe worse. She was the brain of the family. Honestly, I’d go as far as saying she was the brain of her entire friend group — everyone’s unofficial…
-
Mean every word
Every word on here is or once was a piece of me. I mean what I say. I write what I mean. Some stories get twisted in the mix. But I always come back to me. It always comes back to me. One of the hardest parts of wearing your heart on your sleeve is you expect honesty from everyone you meet. You assume that vulnerability will be mirrored, that speaking your truth will invite truth tellers; that someone will handle your unvarnished feelings with the same care. Well, it doesn’t always happen that way. Sometimes people take your openness as an invitation, and sometimes they take it as an…
You May Also Like
Too Much of This, Not Enough of That
Live it Up – Your Way
The Neighboring Country
-
Radically warm
How cold have we become that some call a genuine smile and human touch oddly warm? How guarded have we become that speaking openly about your struggles sounds brave? We talk about social construct as a foreign occurrence, when in reality, it happens right before our eyes…every day. A conditioned mind programmed to act accordingly and accept only what’s in trend — that’s what we became. We applaud vulnerability like it’s a performance, yet tremble at the thought of being truly seen. We crave connection like oxygen, but ration it like we’re facing famine, afraid someone might take more than they deserve. Or worse, discover our lack of it. When…
-
When you’re not feeling like yourself
Very few things in the day-to-day can be as uncomfortable, even draining, as not feeling like yourself, especially when you’re typically the cheerleader. It’s a different kind of ache watching your inner light go off. The good news is that it is temporary. But in the meantime, what do you do? I’m guilty of saying things like, “do the things you love when not feeling like yourself and you’ll come right back.” But I’m realizing that it takes a little more work than that. It takes awareness, it takes patience, it takes acceptance. The circumstances and your surroundings can either help or intensify that feeling, so being aware of where…
-
Revolving Door Tribulations
The day I found out perfection couldn’t be achieved, I knew I had one thing and one thing only left to be: unapologetically human. Flawed to the core. Shamelessly vulnerable. Breakable. Of all this, I find the latter is the hardest thing to be. You’re breakable from the moment you’re conceived; accepting such fragility is what makes it tough. Because who wants to let a life go to waste just like that? Who wants to seem weak? We’re obsessed with being strong in the face of adversity. You’re always trying to dodge the bullet, but life is a revolving door and it will bounce back. It will hit you right…
-
Quest for Hardening a Soft Spot
Peeled eyes, clumsy hands stubborn heart, late at night can’t think right, so I write Confusion and fear over a million years that seem not enough for a cluttered mind to clear I sought comfort, a sign in cheesy inspo lines just because they rhymed but answers I can’t find Mind gamers like to play when you’re at your worst when your highs are low when vulnerability shows Ignoring the ache I stay convinced I’ll be okay ’cause I’m hopeless and it’s senseless and I’ve wondered why hasn’t this soft spot hardened? How many times do the mind games need to be pardoned?
-
Brick by Brick
Walls. Sometimes, by locking everyone out, you get locked in. Walls so high it’s hard to breathe. Can’t be brought down that easily. It will require an army — or maybe simply the undoing of the wrong-doing by those who made them go up.
-
Mastered Exposure
When you’ve got everyone’s back and your own remains in the open, remember that you’re like a weathered rock; broken, but still solid.
-
Shackled
Naked and chained, her journey she begins. It’s a long way.
