My life shifted on the 25th of a month. After that night, events happened, one after another, as if the ground underneath my feet turned into cascading dominoes. The crash splintered my mind and heart, and I carried jagged shards inside–flashbacks, paranoia, tainted memories, and varied anxieties. Since that day, time spiraled and grew heavy …
Trigger Warning : this piece is based on the lived experiences of emotional and medical trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, and postpartum depression. February 2025 Dear God, So here we are, knee-deep in a valley of bones and broken dreams, every fiber in my being screaming for an escape. We need to leave. We need to …
Trigger Warning: This piece was written from the experience of trauma, grief, PTSD, and the journey of faith in the aftermath of heartbreak and broken dreams. Dear God, The story I lived in was beautiful. I walked into its lovely pages, bright-faced and wide-eyed, with stars on my dress and promises of tomorrow at my …
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 …
