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The 11th Commandment – Don’t Rush Childhood
What is that one thing you wanted as a child? I bet you eagerly wanted to be an adult. Being an adult meant doing whatever you wanted to do. Why can't you do the things adults do? Why is the answer always "no" whenever you ask for a cool toy, snack, or game? This question I often asked myself, and finally when I was six years old, I was able to come up with an answer.
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The Price of Addiction
Alcohol abuse runs in my family. It seems like a curse passed down the generations. That said, I also struggled with substance abuse in my early adult life.
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Voices From The Valley Are Rising
"It's time to go to school, Lucy," a loud voice shouted. It was her mother, Mrs. Odhiambo, who realized that her daughter would be late for school. "The sun has risen and you're still snoring. You want to be a lazy girl?" she chided.
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Losing My Hero-in-Law
It all started in October 2022. Our peaceful lives were disrupted by a devastating diagnosis, like a riptide at the beach. My sister-in-law took Alberto, my father-in-law, to a cardiologist. Multiple tests revealed that he suffered from heart problems, and they recommended open heart surgery as soon as possible.
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We Built La Familia
Maybe it was the traveling we always used to do. A family of six that would pile into a fire-engine red 1985 Chevy van, a vehicle that could easily hold a family of six. However, we would always load the van with all kinds of toys and goodies, so I imagined it looked like Santa's sleigh, filled with as much joy and happiness as he delivered on Christmas Eve.
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Almost Lost Forever: True Love and Survival
When the extraordinary Swedish documentary “Nelly & Nadine,” directed by Magnus Gertten, was released in 2022, it was featured in over 100 festivals and received more than 20 international awards, mainly in Europe. Thankfully in the US, it is now widely available on streaming services like Amazon Prime.
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Ye Olde Plastic Knight
I awoke at the crack of noon. My first order of business was to determine my whereabouts. I appeared to be home, although one can never be certain. I searched for my chalice to soothe my parched throat, but it was empty. I resolutely made the journey from reclining to standing.
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‘This Is Us’ — The Drama of Body Shaming, Diversity, and Conflict on My TV
Being a voracious reader since forever, I have always been a sucker for a good story. Unwittingly, I tend to submerge myself in characters so completely that for those few moments I belong entirely to them — crying with them, laughing with them — oblivious of the tear rolling down my cheek or the smile plastered on my face, participating in their glee as well as their grief.
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A Change
My mother always told me that I was her sunshine. Not only is this because my name is Summer, but also because I was the only daughter in the family and was thus treated like a princess. I was told I would do great things in life and to always follow my dreams, so I grew up having many ambitions. I wanted to be a princess like many of the other girls in preschool. In elementary school, I wanted to be a teacher and an FBI agent.
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The Inside Story of a Renegade — What’s It To Ya?
It all started in Wichita, the largest city in Kansas, bustling with the aircraft of Cessna, Learjet, and Boeing. Founded in 1861 as a free state, Wichita was Native American land named after the Wichita and Kanza tribes. This land had a rich, deep cultural heritage predating colonization. Filled with dewy, mystic plains and sunflowers that dance in the wind, Wichita is my birthplace.
