Sometimes I feel like I’m not quite cool enough. Sometimes I feel like I’m just not popular enough. Sometimes I feel like I don’t fit in the same way other people do. Sometimes I feel like there is a group who maybe doesn’t really want me there. Sometimes I wonder why I wasn’t invited. Sometimes … Read more
(This article was originally published in 2018. However, the message is as powerful and relevant to this day.) Life can be a very funny thing, and often times the best approach is simply to laugh. I strongly believe that if we can learn to laugh at our follies, and find a way to chuckle in spite … Read more
A past relationship that made you stronger and smarter is not a wasted one. In life, we learn from our mistakes and experiences. We continue to move forward in pursuit of happiness and becoming the best version of ourselves. So we asked our community (Positive Outlooks) what they learned from their previous relationships and below … Read more
Whenever she saw me drawing, my mother would tell me to stop. ‘You’ll be nothing but a poor artist,’ she’d say. Her life was very hard. She worked in a sweatshop, so she wanted me to get a ‘real job’ when I grew up. But art was the only thing I was good at. I … Read more
I’ve blacked a lot of it out. But I do remember that recess was a nightmare for me. My mom told me later that she would sometimes hide in the bushes, and when she saw me sitting by myself, she’d start crying. The diagnosis was ‘selective mutism.’ I’d get so anxious around people that I … Read more
None of us were wanted. But Diamond was born first. So she had it the worst. She was the one who took away our mother’s childhood. And Mom never forgave her for that, so she didn’t let Diamond have a childhood either. She had to take care of all of us. I remember the day … Read more
Early childhood was chaotic; my brother and I endured a lot of abuse. Having one another helped. It was sort of: ‘Hey, at least there’s another human with me.’ We’ve handled our trauma differently over the years. My brother doesn’t trust authority, and he’s been arrested in seven different states. It usually involves some sort … Read more
There’s so much that the world needs to be educated about, especially when it comes to grief. Grief is NOT something to be ignored, dismissed, or minimized. That makes it worse, or makes it resurface in a different way. Grief is something that needs to not only be allowed to happen, but encouraged to happen. … Read more
“My dad said we could do something special for my 6th birthday. ‘Anything you want,’ he told me. I think he thought I was going to say ‘ice cream.’ But I said I wanted to go to New York City, and two weeks later we were on a plane. We spent the morning of my … Read more
July 15, 2019. The text read, “Hey Autumn, are you still interested in foster care? Remember when you said to let you know when I think I have someone that would potentially be a good fit? Well, I think I have someone…” Months prior, I had spoken with a friend at church who worked in … Read more
Time is just the most precious thing. The older you get, I guess the more you realize this. Maybe it’s not even an age thing. Maybe it’s a maturity thing, but none of us really knows for sure exactly how much of it we’re going to be given, and so when you truly grow, you … Read more
I don’t blame the girls. Not at all. I get it, I get it. But I’ve always wanted a wife. And kids. And as I get older it starts to get more real—I’ve never had a girlfriend. I’ve always been the funny fat friend. It’s the one thing I’m good at. Making people laugh. It’s … Read more