HOW DID I GET HERE? I could feel it. Burnout was creeping up on me, lingering in the back of my mind. The second half of 2023 had me reeling from exhaustion. I was a grad student, speech therapist, wife, and a writer just fighting for the time to write. Then one day, the cool …
She’s sold for a cheap price because that’s what she’s worth. Broken with missing beads. A ripped inner skirt. Lace that’s old fashioned. She’s not as beautiful as the others. She’s used. The manager of the tailor shop called me to talk about her. “Are you sure you want to fix this dress?” She was my wedding …
Dreams Are Galaxies The night sky expands above me, infinite and full. The galaxies are blooming tonight. They burn in creamy pink, warm purple, swirling indigo. Comets fleck their stellar faces and constellations peek from the milky folds. Dreams. If dreams are birthed in reality, they’re as beautiful as this. But… They are incomplete. A …
The virus prolongs its stay. Businesses close. The uncertainty drags on like a sour note. Summer ends without the usual reprieve. “It won’t be the same anymore,” they say. Talks of the “new normal” lead to poignant paradigm shifts. As the death toll rises and the world tips into economic breakdown, I’m stuck wondering, “When …
For the reader whose year hasn’t been the best journey: Imagine this. It’s December. The year is ending. Your emotions stir like a contrast of colors. Dark streaks stain the bright. You trace the silver lining on your worst months. There’s still something to be grateful for. Yet those months remind you of how …
[Breaking Point] It was the summer of 2016 when my stomach decided to throw a tantrum. My swollen jaw throbbed from the recent wisdom tooth extraction. But it was nothing compared to the rising acid from the depths of my gut. The pain bubbled up, tightening my chest. I sprang for the bathroom as I …
[Dealing With Comparison] Everyone loves sunflowers. They’re bright and alive, sunny petals raised towards the skies. Eye-catching. Beautiful. The center of attention. Sunflowers are easily the stars of the garden, singing of their Creator’s glory. I wanted to be a sunflower—prominent and visible. But I felt like a daisy. [The Daisy Complex] I was small …
I. There he is again. The guilt settles on his shoulders like snakes with weights, coiling around him, pulling him down deeper. He sinks into the quicksand of his own self-abasement and abandons the thought of change. He did it again—looped another porn video; broke his promise to end the addiction. He vowed to change, …
[The Weirdo] “You’re so weird!” My classmate blurted at me. Her friend shushed her. “You’re so mean.” The words didn’t stop my classmate from giggling. I stood before them with a plastic smile on my face. Play it cool, I told myself. My steps shuffled away from their snickers and grins. Yeah. Act cool. Like you’re totally unaffected. …
[Triggers] “*Ate, what should you do when you have a suitor?” my cousin asks. She’s pretty and smart. She rides the rollercoaster of high school flings, which I have zero experience in. She’s only a year younger than me, but she expects me to say something wise. All I say is something honest. “I don’t …
