You never know who will teach you the things you’ve always needed to learn.
In life, you run into opportunities that can change who you are as a person forever — sometimes you understand the magnitude of their impacts in the moment, and sometimes it doesn’t hit you until after the fact.
A few years ago, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to travel to Bangladesh to study climate change with a group of other young adults via a nonprofit organization called World Savvy. During my time there, I learned a lot about the different issues surrounding it like sustainable food sources and housing.
When I first landed, those were the types…
A home isn’t always made up of four walls
There are at least 553, 742 people without homes in the United States.
To this day, I often revisit a memory from when I was 8 years old — it comes to me like a vivid dream. I saw my dad living in the back of a vacant semi-trailer.
That was normal for me.
For as long as I have known him, he was homeless.
Growing up, he was never consistently in my life. My mom and him divorced before I was born as a result of his abusive behavior which was brought on by his addiction — alcoholism.
Homelessness…
It’s never too late to start over.
Addiction can come in many different forms. An addiction could be anywhere from compulsive eating, drug addiction, or even nymphomania. For me, my addiction came in a form that you’d most likely expect from a 70+ year old who resides in Florida and wears a translucent visor. My addiction was gambling, slot playing to be exact, and it took up a major part of my life.
As soon as I turned 18, I had to go to the casino. I mean, it’s one of those rites of passage you have to do once you're of age — kind of like…
Believe me, it’s a lot more productive than what you think.
I have a serious question to ask you. This will probably be the most thought-provoking question that you are asked all day, perhaps all week, so make sure that your response is as accurate as possible. Here we go.
Have you ever been called a b*tch? I get called one almost every single day in my line of work. It’s never fun being called a b*tch — which, I am sure most of you would agree with (no matter how thick of a skin we have).
Recently, I came across a woman who has taken the derogatory word and flipped…
Here’s to dismantling male chauvinism and demanding our power back.
(Disclaimer: The examination and opinions given in this story are not conducive to all men being misogynistic creeps)
On the count of 3, raise your hand if you’ve ever been personally victimized by a man telling you to smile…or demanding you to do anything, really.
I think it’s safe to assume that if we were all in a room together right now there would be a sea of hands as far as the eye can see. A sad reality.
Every day, women are subjected to the twisted superiority that men think they have over us. To fully stand up and…
Illness, death, and a deranged DIY project
Dr. Carl Tanzler, also known as Dr. Carl Von Cosel, amongst many other names was a German radiology technologist at the Marine-Hospital Service in Key West, Florida.
In 1931, Tanzler fell in love with one of his patients — Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos. She was a young Cuban-American woman who was suffering from tuberculosis and was brought into the hospital where Tanzler worked. Unfortunately, she later died.
People have a hard time letting go and Tanzler had the hardest time of all.
I’ve been a hopeless romantic for as long as I can remember — I love “love”. To…
Adapting the mindset of “no topic is off-limits” can open endless doors of opportunity.
The true testament to a writer’s abilities is being able to write an obituary, at least that’s what my journalism teacher told me a few years ago.
As a young 19-year-old aspiring Journalist, I found myself asking my close friends and family to come up with quotes that summed up who I “was” as a person and how I impacted them. I followed that up with writing about my life and untimely death in short, but meaningful, staccato sentences.
Looking back as a writer now, I like to think that the motive behind my professor’s unconventional lesson plan was to…
This is a teachable moment for us all.
“I am not pregnant; I am just fat.”
Those were the words at the bottom of the email that a friend had forwarded to me last week.
It appeared as though she finally reached her boiling point with the number of insensitive people who had been asking her at work when she was due — one person even asked if she was planning on breastfeeding her baby.
She sent a multi-paragraph email that was well thought out, compelling read about why you should never ask a woman if she’s pregnant.
It touched on the negative effects that doing so can…
Exploring this realm of writing can level-up your creative abilities
I’m a ghostwriter on Fiverr. Believe me, it’s not as scary as it sounds.
I promise I’m not sitting at my computer with a white sheet thrown over my head murmuring “boooooooo” as I write content. I am simply writing material for other people behind the scenes.
I decided to explore this type of freelance writing shortly after beginning my writing journey at the end of January because I wanted more opportunities to share my words with others.
Contrary to what some people may think, I haven’t lost anything as a writer by letting other people take credit for the…
I pledge to only indulge in things that keep me happy and healthy.
Addiction is a big part of who I am today.
Throughout my entire life, I have watched my dad suffer at the hands of alcohol. He is the true definition of an addict. His addiction has kept him from ever keeping a job and the revocation of his license. Those two things led to him living on the streets which aided his contraction of hepatitis C.
I have seen firsthand how ugly addiction can be. I’ve been exposed to it my entire life. There was a pivotal moment in my life when I made a promise to myself that I…
Reo
HR Professional with a forever passion for writing.
