life lessons

  • This is a good place to begin. I never know how to react when someone says, “Happy Pride.” For me, Pride isn’t about rainbows and niceties. It’s about in-your-face defiance, inner strength, and being visible—for the person who’s been beaten down so badly they’ve not just retreated to the closet but nailed the fucking door

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  • I was talking with my husband, Rick, the other day—just one of those quiet moments after we’d dropped our bags and taken a deep breath. We’ve been on the road for a month now, weaving our way from one city to the next, and I could tell he sensed something in my mood. Madrid had

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  • Yesterday, in the heart of the Madrid train station, we stood shoulder to shoulder in a dense, unmoving crowd. We waited more than four hours to pass through security, just to reach our train platform. Our train was delayed by three hours, and the atmosphere was thick with heat, frustration, and fatigue. The crowd pulsed

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  • As Good Friday arrives, I find myself grieving not just the crucifixion of Jesus, but the crucifixion of everything He stood for. In a world where religion is being twisted into a weapon, and hate is preached in the name of love, I wrote this letter to God. It is a cry for truth, for…

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  • Have you ever noticed how some people seem to deeply feel the emotions of others, almost as if they’re experiencing those feelings themselves? It’s an intriguing distinction that I’ve been contemplating: the difference between being a true empath and just having a knack for reading body language. Take a moment to picture someone in tears.

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  • Research Truth

    There’s so much craziness online right now. I’m running everything I post through analytics to see if it’s true. You saw this with my post this morning. Tell people what’s going on and then back it up with fact. Here’s an example: There are a lot of reports of people dying in ICE detention centers.

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  • Autogenocide might sound like something straight out of a dystopian novel, but it’s a concept that’s increasingly being discussed—and hotly debated—in our society today. In its simplest form, autogenocide is about a society causing massive self-harm through its own policies and actions. It’s a blend of “auto” (self) and “genocide” (the systematic destruction of a

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  • I Believe

    I believe there is a sacred rhythm in every heartbeat—a divine presence woven into the fabric of our daily lives that calls us to look deeper, to feel more fully, and to love without reservation. I believe that this higher power is not confined to dogmatic creeds or the structure of organized religion, but lives

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  • In the early 1950s, the United States was gripped by a paranoid fervor that led to one of its most insidious campaigns against its own citizens. Known as the Lavender Scare, this period saw government agencies systematically purge LGBTQ+ individuals from federal employment. Labeled as security risks solely because of their sexual orientation, thousands lost

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  • Alexander Leon once said, “Queer people don’t grow up as ourselves; we grow up playing a version of ourselves that sacrifices authenticity to minimize humiliation and prejudice.” Those words have always resonated with me, capturing the challenges I faced growing up queer. Early on, I learned to conceal parts of my true self—my interests, my

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