rebelling against low expectations
I can still remember the time when I lost a very close friend. I still remember the way it hurt and the way I cried into my pillow. I still remember the sadness I felt in my heart when I thought of this friendship. I can imagine you understand those feelings too. I imagine you also know what it’s like to “break up” with a close friend. While we always hear about boyfriend and girlfriend break...
When I had nightmares as a kid, my mom would walk me through strategies to help me calm down. She taught me to count my blessings and recite Bible verses until the panic receded and I could fall back asleep. Recently, my papa passed away from cancer, and one night the grief trapped me. Here I was living in a nightmare, but I didn’t have any strategies to ease the pain. Through tears, I couldn’t...
I wish people thought about death more. I think it would change the world. Hang on, stick with me. It’s just that this weekend, I witnessed a car accident. I was almost in a car accident. I also grieved the death of a family friend in a skiing accident. And I experienced the fragility of the human body, dealing with unusual brain swelling and lung issues. I’m twenty – we aren’t supposed to...
On August 8th, 2021, around nine in the evening, I received the call I had been dreading. My mom’s voice was shaky and quiet at the other end as she broke the news. Mema was gone. Our family had been waiting for her to pass away—we knew the end was near—for eight days. We said our goodbyes during visits to the hospice house where she was staying. My grief is still raw. It hurts to think about her...
New Year’s Eve 2019. I remember it like it was yesterday. We didn’t have any plans, so my family and I stayed home to ring in the New Year. We binge watched a TV show while I ate too much chocolate and an embarrassing number of cream puffs until a shiny, brand new 2020 rolled onto the calendar. Another year over. Another just begun. A few days before, I’d written in my journal, “What will this...
Christmas is a joyful time of memories and laughter, but for so many others, it’s a time of deep pain and grief. What should we do when there is an empty chair at the table? What about when the laughter is so much quieter and the beloved presence is gone? What then? In August, just four months ago, my grandfather died tragically. My life was forever changed from that day on. These last few...
rebelling against low expectations
