personal Tag

“Everyone in the neighborhood rejoices?” or “A bunch of meatheads have to look for something else to talk about?” you’re probably thinking. You’re right, there’s a tremendous and well-deserved reputation for Crossfit gyms to be full of braggadocios who are constantly throwing around jargon like “WOD,” “PR,” “AMRAP,” and the like. The Crossfit experience has definitely bred these things into members, but what it’s also bred is what’s given rise to the cultish following: fitness, healthy habits, weight loss. I can already feel your eyes rolling at your computer screen,Read More

I never did grasp the entire concept of letting go. Timing the release of a perfect hug is difficult for me at times. Relinquishing control isn’t my problem, it’s the fear of not knowing that gets to me. According to the multiple self-help books and articles I’ve read, the minute we let go of the attachment to what we really want, it appears in our life. In order to better myself, I need to let go instead of searching to add something.   At the last wedding I attended, IRead More

We said good-bye, or at least we just stopped talking. It seems that how most modern-day love stories start their end. I thought I loved you, but I really didn’t like you. You portrayed a collected façade that only hid shattered pieces that no one really knew how to mend together. I believed things would get better sooner than later, but I think the lies to myself got the best of me.   It took time to realize the damage that you created and the sorrow that you lived through.Read More

For my Firefighter, who already proved he can. Could you love a cancer patient despite my burdened health? Can you provide the love and care that my heart has never felt? Are you ready for hours spent at the hospital waiting, for news you don’t know if you’ll be loving or hating? Do you have the patience for the brain fog I possess? Or the ability to smile through my CAT scans, nonetheless? Will you research conditions I’ll develop over time, and learn the medical jargon the specialists love toRead More

It was my second date with a guy who I had met on Tumblr. You read that correctly; we did not meet on Tinder, a pseudo-dating app designed to facilitate smash sessions between willing parties, but on Tumblr, a blogging site that I used almost exclusively to reblog pictures of Batman , rappers, and cute animals. Was meeting someone I’d met off the internet, and not even a dating website, the sketchiest thing I’d done up until that point? Not even close. Besides, he was really cute (at least fromRead More

What is to be said about a man so heavily spoken for? Whether his family, friends or famous reputation; anywhere you go the mention of George Boisson, also known as King, leads to conversations and stories of an impressive legacy. It was the kind of impressive legacy that leads one to believe that perhaps King was not just a nickname but some form of actual royalty. What can be said about a man so widely respected? The greatest people are always the hardest to honor. Not much can be saidRead More

I write. I give speeches. I have no fear in speaking in public, and that it because of one speech that I had to deliver at the worst time of my life. Let me explain: When I graduated from high school in 2009, my mother asked me to join a Toastmasters club with her. Toastmasters is a club for people who want to learn and improve on leadership and public speaking skills. I was 18, barely eligible to join, and learned quite a bit while there. Also that year, myRead More

Dear Awkward Teenager, I’m staring my late-twenties in the face, but I still couldn’t tell you the details of their anatomy. It’s funny how I still manage to daydream the way you do during 4th period only to be awoken by the lunch bell. So much changes, but so much stays the same. Trust me on this, sometimes it’s best to just embrace the unknown as opposed to finding out the answers immediately. Honestly, some questions or prayers will go unanswered for what seems like an eternity, but that’s onlyRead More

It was one of those nights that the busy burrito place down the street makes you alter your seating arrangement three times. From a table that could seat eight, to the end of another wobbly legged one, to finally suggesting a back-corner table by the bathroom door. We made clumsy eye contact with those who entered the bathroom and shut the door facing outwards. Rejecting previous offers for an additional plate for this shared burrito meant that the manner in which I splayed burrito guts out of tortillas couldn’t beRead More

The stories you are about to read are all 100% true. Names, locations, and other identifying characteristics have not been changed to protect the innocent. Namely, because the only innocent person in these scenarios is me.   10. Guy: “I’m not gonna bust inside you, I’m a nice Jewish boy.” Me: *Nopes the fuck out*   9. Guy mumbles something. Me: “What?” Guy: “I’m tired.” Then proceeds to roll over and pass tf out on top of me. In a twin bed. While I am struck with the undeniable andRead More

It’s our anniversary but I’m experiencing it without you. August 18th marks the day we parted ways; you for a destination that people consider to be a “better place,” and me to a place that I have not found yet. I hope your taste buds are delighting in a huge bowl of ice cream right now because that was our sacred ritual. Honestly, ice cream makes everything better; if only we could be savoring each bite with one another the way we used to do. Our separation was one ofRead More

I don’t know what time it is.  I refuse to look because it makes being awake worse. I’m caught in this buzzed state, wanting to be quiet, mind and body, wanting to be accepting and still and lie next to you, strewn diagonal amongst the chaos of covers and unsteadily tucked sheets.  I know it has been hours.  I’m too sensitive of time and my perception of it surreptitiously slips in as I wake before alarms. I’m angry.  I’m angry you revealed moments before sleep that you’re looking for jobsRead More

Hello my name is Shannon. Professionals tell me that I suffer from both generalized anxiety disorder and depression. I used to be pretty pissed off about that, until I realized that, “you have a mental illness” is actually code for, “the universe is turning your life into a comedy.” Here’s what that comedy consists of:   Panic Attacks: I like to think the way I gulp air and struggle to breathe while I’m experiencing a panic attack is somehow cute and endearing. In my mind, I look like I’m practicingRead More

I ran the San Diego Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon a couple weekends ago. My training leading up to it was spotty (at best). The foundation of my diet was ice cream and red meat. Having grown up an athlete—not a good athlete, but an accomplished try-hard—I assumed running thirteen miles would be a walk in the park. I was so wrong. Because we only walked for a few minutes in the proverbial park, and then had to keep running. I will now recount for you my first half-marathon—and possibly myRead More