"Uprooted and lonely, still I endure, inner strength woven to my core." ~Angie Weiland Crosby Life doesn’t come with instructions and sometimes the only way to mature and grow is by facing the hard things. We have to ride out the storm through to the other side. Through these hardships we learn self-reliance, resourcefulness, and critical thinking skills. As a young adult, I never had a true support system in place and these skills became my tools for survival. Self-relianc

"The one who follows the crowd, will usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone, is likely to find themselves in places no one has ever been." ~Albert Einstein My life experiences taught me to be resourceful and resilient. I have lived many lives and had the pleasure of meeting many people from different corners of the world. Many of those people are no longer in my life, but definitely contributed to certain chapters. As this chapter comes to a close and

"Some memories never leave your bones. Like salt in the sea; they become part of you." ~Unknown Nostalgia is a bittersweet emotional state characterized by a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past. It blends the joy of recalling happy memories with the slightly painful realization that the moments are gone and cannot be recovered. I find a lot of similarities between nostalgia and grief. Both emotions carry pain and sadness, mixed with the happiness of another

It has been 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Since that time, we have lived through slavery, countless wars, catastrophes, and total injustice from a government that would rather see us starve than give us the basic necessities and human rights we so rightly deserve. The negativity we see so often on social media looks like the future is doomed and we have no way of getting out unscathed. We’re often faced with racism, classism, homophobia, ab

"Having a place to go is a home. Having someone to love is a family. Having both is a blessing." ~Donna Hedges Most families work the same way. A set of relationships that are intertwined and become like branches that grow from a tree. A foundation that is so intricate it has the ability to stretch out and affect the other life forms nearby. When most people think about what family means to them, they will likely tell you it consists of parents, siblings, aunts and uncles,

"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" ~Ephesians 6:4 Yesterday was Father’s Day. And I have mixed feelings about that day. I have my reasons for my apprehensive attitude. I suffered a lot of pain at the hands of my father and still hold a lot of bitterness and resentment towards him. A part of me wants to forgive him, but that would only be for my benefit. Something I have learned through the years