This experience made me think about how I use my own privilege. Do I eliminate obstacles for others or do I take the easier route of deferring to the status quo? In the last decade I have increasingly sought to educate myself about the biased power structures in our society. I’d like to consider myself […]
I am doing this at the risk of people who may criticize or question me, because at least some part of me knows: If I don’t, something worse will happen to me, and soon. I’m not supposed to be here. Especially not now. Last night, I clawed my way through my first panic attack in […]
When I look back on the past few years, I am proud to feel like I’ve built something that’s mine. Staying with my partner in our new home for Christmas is another way to mold the life I want. When my partner suggested that we spend our Christmas sans family, I initially balked. Being an […]
In my mind, if I do not incessantly succeed, people have no reason to rely on me. Believe in me. Love me. A childhood nickname made me who I am today. Well, at the very least, it started me on a path that, nearly 25 years later, I am still on. In fifth grade, when […]
Why do we continue to do this? Love these animals who will leave us? “I don’t think we’re going to have Hobbes much longer,” my friend Sheri says over coffee at the kitchen table. In a few hours we are heading to a concert for a day of tailgating and music, but there it is, […]
C’mon, it’s not even a creative insult. It almost always happens like this. I’m walking down the street and some guy honks his horn or shouts out of the side of his car. Or maybe he’s walking down the street toward me and grins and makes some kind of comment. “Hey, baby.” I don’t even […]
Most experts now agree that a combination of genetic, socioeconomic, and environmental factors can all lead to obesity, yet too many doctors are still treating it as an issue of willpower. TW: eating disorders, fat shaming In 2009, I was struck by a mysterious stomach pain that effectively put my life on hold. I lost […]
It turns out that “Do you want to be pregnant?” and “Do you want to be a parent?” are two very separate questions, and for me, they have two very different answers. Maybe this is an inevitable part of being in my 30s, but I’ve recently, inexplicably, wanted to nurture something. So I went to […]
