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Sifting Through the Ashes
I thought it was strange that my mom called me so early in the morning. It was 7:30am for me, so it must have been 4:30am for her. It was Wednesday, August 9th. “I wanted to call you before you saw the news. There's a fire in Lāhainā, Kīhei, and Kula. Everyone in our family is safe and accounted for. I might go pick up grandpa from Kīhei today. Your cousin was in Lāhainā, but escaped to Nāpili. Aunty has not heard from him since last night. I will keep in touch.” My cousin called my aunty the next day to check in. He was safe and helping with the…
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I’m Becoming My Mother, But That’s Not a Bad Thing!
When I was a child, my mother told me I’d grow up to be just like her. She said it to me in a tone that let me know I’d dread what I experienced once the change happened. Now, I’m “grown up,” and, as she predicted, I am exhibiting more and more characteristics that initially belonged to my mom alone. As I get older, not only do I look more and more like her, but I act like her, too.
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My Partial Program Experience
I have been depressed before, and depressed since. Arguably I am always hovering at some degree of “depression,” but at this time in my life, in early 2019, it was a darker, uglier color than it had ever previously been. I was immobile, frozen in time; I had become nothing but a fixture on my couch that occasionally moved to lay down in bed instead. I had long shed any sense of personhood and was a shadow of myself.
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Heartbreak Journal
I can’t even explain how much my heart ached from the pain I felt during those years. I was a teenager. I was naive. I was just too nice. Others mocked me. I should have known better. What did I do wrong? Nobody warned me he would break my heart. There were no signs of it. He played the part well and he had me playing his game. I never grieved so much in my life. The unbearable strain my heart felt was a load on my shoulder. Actually, a part of me was missing him. It made me wonder, “how could I fall for someone who gave his heart…
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The Messy History of a Licensed Psychologist
I can’t even remember my age when I started, but I had more than five psychologists. I established a rapport with none until my first visit to a psychiatrist, when my undeniable mental health was crumbling. My psychiatrist never gave me a proper answer, but she was, and still is the only therapist who I felt did not give up on me. As I said, various psychologists went in and out of my life. Many diagnosed me with borderline personality disorder.
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Finding Beauty and Ourselves in the ‘Devil’s Footprints’
Those who don't know Italy well should know that there is no country or village–however small–that doesn’t feature a church, monument, scenic landscape or other remarkable attraction that deserves to be visited. I would like to tell you the story of how I discovered the extraordinary Ciampate del Diavolo, or “Devil’s Footprints,” palaeontological site, an area with fossils of great scientific value. It is tucked away in a little village, Tora e Piccilli, in the southern Italian area of the Roccamonfina extinct volcano. It preserves the oldest known footprints of Homo Heidelbergensis, one of the earliest extinct species of human beings who lived around 350,000 years ago.
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How Toxic Relationships Happen, Queer Ones Too
Nobody wants a toxic relationship, but they just happen sometimes. Most people go through one at least once in their lives, and it has probably happened to you. Well, at least it has happened to me.
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Lebanon Staycation: Ten Days, Eight Trips
Ten days, eight trips around Lebanon. And at last, on June 3, 2022 at 4 p.m., our vacation started.
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Welcome to Japan: The Island That Has Everything
From the rolling hills and countryside of North Carolina to city skyscrapers illuminated with neon signs and the ever-crowded streets of Tokyo, Japan, my first step out of the airplane felt like the entrance to another world. With the convenience of airplanes, traveling around the world is just a matter of money and dedication to adventure.
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How To Bid Adieu To University: My 4 Tips For Navigating Your Return To The Real World
How often in your life have you closed your ears to the cliché “time flies” and prefer instead to throw yourself into the “having fun” part? Never does that expression feel more true than when you find yourself standing on the precipice of the end of your time at university.
