Moment of silence for the loves lost at the hands of a woman the hands of a man who took it upon themselves to play God. After the year and some change of virus related loss, pain and anguish ripping through families leaving whole cities, states, countries and continents frozen in fear, burdened and oppressed by sorrow you have the audacity to take a knee on a neck “mistake” your gun for a taser, even after much training, even after releasing the safety even after raising to

Small moments mean the world to me because I know what it’s like when those moments don’t happen. I ask you to help me build something or to teach me your perspective because those are moments we didn’t get before. As I’m growing, I have learned to look at you as a man, not just my dad. That shift in perspective helps me see you. Not your mistakes or shortcomings, just you. It allows me to extend patience and speak freely. You’re my dad, but I choose for you to be my homie. T

I am safe. I am protected. I am loving. I am loved. I create peace. I speak sunrays. I smile gratitude. I rise with affirmations and gratitude. On those mornings when my anxiety’s attempting to Geppetto me into doing nothing or screaming statistics in my ear, I quiet the noise with gratitude. When I feel like I have nothing, I wiggle my toes and fingers, rub my hands together, blink and smile. That’s how I remind myself that if I don’t do anything more in the day, I’ve alread

May I detach from that that does not serve me. May I detach from he who does not serve me. May I be bold in my endeavors and smile as I rise with bloody lips, palms and knees when I fall. May I spit blood in the face of all the bullshit sent to break me. Let the blood be the revelation that I bend, buckle, and shatter only to come back better like Kintsugi. May I leave my mark. May my words, spoken or written, leave an imprint like that of colliding tectonic plates. May they

One time for the anxious. The amazing people who get so hyped that they run and hide from their greatness. The brilliant mind. Imprisoned by the troubled soul. A condescending warden of a brain who proclaimed that the genius had to settle for average. Mundane. Don’t stand out. Maintain. I wrote this for you. Just for you. My pen moves in sync with your racing heart. Erratic, quite manic, slightly breathless. For you I breathe. For you I share my pen’s sweet release in hopes t

For a while, “trust the process” was my motto. I was saying it for every situation as a means of reminding myself that God’s plan is perfect and that everything will work out in due time. I had been repeating the phrase during meditation, in the shower, as I exhaled in a difficult yoga pose-all that. I felt so strongly about the phrase that I was telling other people to keep calm and trust the process, too. It all seemed so simple and so soothing until one day when it wasn’t.

In the light of all that is wonderful and perfect in impartial imperfection of a world so unforgiving, I thank God for the beauty of you. Sitting on a brick paver watching trucks in Daytona, Mama looked over at me and spoke straight to my heart, “If only Grip was here. I wonder what he would think of this” In that moment, my brain understood the confusion of the heavy feeling in my heart. The physical pain that filled my chest Every time someone in a Ford Smashed the gas

​In the church they talk about seasons. Throughout the year the weather changes, the leaves fall and the flowers blossom. Seasons are the reason. We laughed, we cried, we built, we broke. It’s the end of our season. I don’t want forever because that’s not why we were put together. I poured into you. I gave you more than I knew I had. I’m thankful for that. I’m not yours and you’re not mine, But I’ve still got your back. I’ll still defend your name and do what I can to help yo

Whether you give up on all your goals or pursue them with everything you have, the world around you keeps going. It seems like everyone is doing everything everywhere. It seems like everywhere I turn someone is getting married, having children, or reaching their career goals. It’s so easy to get lost in what everyone else is doing because it looks so…nice. In March, I fell off track. I wasn’t getting the results that I wanted from exercise, writing or anything else so I dropp

“Where do you see yourself in five years?” “What’s your five-year plan?” “What is your ideal career?” *Insert blankest of all blank stares here* I remember when those questions used to excite me. I could easily answer with “I’ll be in college” or “I’ll be graduating from college and moving out of Alabama to work for a large corporation”, but now those same questions result in anxiety and a slight panic. Five years?! I’m still in Alabama, that Financial Analyst career still ha

A dreamer’s dreamer. Believer. Hardworking overachiever- underachieving. Sprinting through life. Dreamer, slow down. You’re missing life’s true meaning. You’re fussing when you should smile. Crying when you should laugh. Sit and observe for a while. Dreamer! You’re blessed, be grateful. Be thankful for breath. Be happy for sunshine. Don’t buckle under the stress. Smile more -not less. One. You get one and the last thing you want when this one’s done is to look back and see th