This originally appeared on The FBomb. Republished here with permission. Teaching young men and women how to care for themselves ensures their self-sufficiency. Home Economics, renamed Family and Consumer Sciences in 1994, had its heyday in the mid-1900s. It was taught in almost all schools and offered as a major in college. Unfortunately, despite being conceived […]
Confidence comes from knowing you can get shit done. When I was in my 20s, I lived alone in New York, in a tiny studio apartment. Aside from a few sporadic, months-long relationships, I was mostly single, so when things broke, I just took care of it. Of course, I could always call the super […]
This originally appeared on The Manifest-Station. Republished here with permission. Can she escape the tyranny of self-loathing that weaves itself into the lives of so many imperfectly beautiful women? I walked through my bedroom door with a pile of laundry in my arms, clean clothes destined for dresser drawers. On leaving the room, I realized that […]
I feared he would be bullied, that he’d be an outcast. I didn’t know exactly how to help this little spirit, but I knew I would protect him, come what may. Down syndrome. The words were a punch in the gut, a shattering of the heart, a cold arrow shooting down my spine. Down syndrome. Until that […]
I enjoy dressing up and being told my hair looks good and catching a glimpse of myself in a mirrored store front and liking what I see. Whether or not that makes me vain is up to you. Recently, I divulged to a friend that I had undergone a cosmetic procedure several years ago, a secret […]
This originally appeared on The F Bomb. Republished here with permission. “Be careful! You’re just a girl!” people told me before I set off to South America this summer by myself. “Be careful, you’re just a girl!” I heard this phrase far too many times this summer as I prepared to leave for Brazil and […]
This originally appeared on Alternet.org. Republished here with permission. Making a bucket list can make you feel kind of lousy if you can barely afford a bucket. “You’re never gonna climb a mountain.” When I heard that phrase on the TV show Desperate Housewives I was taken aback by its sting. The context was a couple cleaning […]
Society must evolve to accept individuals who are “different.” I started reading about Asperger’s and autism for a boyfriend whom I suspected of having a mild version of the syndrome. I came to understand that Asperger’s and autism are essentially two names for the same thing. The only significant difference between the two syndromes is a […]
