“‘Hey my bro, I’m just wondering if I could have some money, my bro. I just want the money for some food and clothes, my bro. Thank you, my bro.’ This was the message I received through Facebook messenger 2 years ago. I decided to reply to the sender, ‘Sorry, Brian, I can’t send you … Read more
“I was 16 years old when my family moved to Guatemala. Up until that point, I had basically been living the American dream, but that move caused a radical 180 in me when I began to really see the world from a new perspective. My life looked a lot different than most American teenagers. I … Read more
“I’ve never seen the man read a book in his entire life. One time I saw his high school report card—and the only class he got an ‘A’ in was gym. His parents never had any money. So right after school he got a job stocking produce at a local food market. The owners realized … Read more
Tonight I walked in the tanning salon and the employee seemed very annoyed and not very welcoming. At first I thought to myself “well she’s not in a good mood, she needs to put her happy face on at work” Then I looked down… I see a baby.. a sick baby sitting in his car … Read more
I was supposed to go to the neighborhood gym I had just joined, to get my free one hour session with a personal trainer. Instead, I wound up running for my life. It was the morning of November 8, 2018, the day my beloved town of Paradise burned to the ground. Throughout my 67 years, … Read more
You’ve seen the pictures, now here’s the story! My best friend of over 10 years, Kailee, saw these awesome ugly sweaters while shopping at WalMart. She FaceTimed me out of nowhere to tell me that we needed them, and being the person that I am, agreed instantly. We originally discussed having a mutual friend of … 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
Mom and him are obsessed with each other. They met when they were eighteen. And they’re always hugging, and kissing, and dancing in the kitchen. So we grew up around a lot of love. But Dad has always been more of the ‘Acts of Service’ type. Every night at 8pm, he’d come to all our … Read more
My brother and I were both placed into foster homes at a young age. He was lucky—he went to a family called the Ripleys. I went through four different homes in three years, and each one was worse than the next. I’d get to see my brother every few months. Ms. Ripley would take us … Read more
I was raised by my grandmother. And any little thing could trigger her. One time I got mad and told her: ‘You’re not my mom.’ I was only six years old. But she put me on an airplane to go live with my mother for a month, who I didn’t even know. My grandfather James … Read more
My mom said: ‘Val has something to say to you.’ I was sitting on the stairwell, crying. And he knew right away that I was pregnant. He didn’t yell. He didn’t say anything. He just started pacing. But I knew what he was thinking: I was eighteen years old, I was his only daughter, and … Read more
I had very thick hair as a child. But I was also very tender-headed, so I hated getting my hair combed. The first time my mother took me to the salon, I screamed bloody murder. So for the rest of my childhood she did my hair herself. And it always looked good. I grew to … Read more