I’m ready to retire my anxious thoughts from my marriage. — It’s loud again today. Not the Sesame Street songs playing on a loop in the background or the dog barking. I can handle that. Those things come with mute buttons or the ability to be lovingly ushered outside if they become overwhelming. …

Last chances. — I can’t mess this up. Fae’s wings twitched nervously as she rubbed her tiny hands together. She stood outside of Sandy Shores, hoping against hope that this job would finally be the right fit for her. …

I’ve only been there for a week and I’m hooked. — Bonuses, bonuses, bonuses. The majority of my income thus far has come from bonuses. Within my first two days on Vocal, I made $15 in bonuses. Ten dollars just for signing up for Vocal+ and $5 for liking 15 other creators' stories. I am currently waiting on one more $5 bonus for publishing…

Even though calling you “men” is a stretch. — I’ve wished I could rip my heart out a thousand times over the pain I felt. But you don’t care about that. Your life went on as normal, unscathed by my pain. You didn’t have to feel empty, shattered, and completely defiled. Did my silence fortify you to hurt someone…

We’re free…-ish. — This pandemic has taught me something interesting about the country I live in. Not just that the majority of us are inconsiderate, self-involved, and dramatic for absolutely no reason. I already knew that. It brought to light with heartbreaking clarity that if something does not immediately serve our comfort and…

What do you say when you don’t know what to say? — Hey. It’s been a while. I could blame my responsibilities, the pandemic, the distance. But those would be lies. And you always relished candour, so here’s some I’ve been holding back. The reality is, I’ve been avoiding you. Avoiding the awkward silences and meaningless conversations. …

Simple, helpful, and easy to use. — As parents, we want our kids to be safe. At least until they reach the age where if they do something less than genius, we can honestly say, “I tried.” Even though God knows they don’t make it easy. All jokes aside, my biggest fear is something happening to my…

And I only did one thing. — Okay, I swore for the integrity of my writing that I would never use a clickbaity title like that. Or use words like “clickbaity.” But I’m ditching the self-righteous tendency to take my writing too seriously because I’m floored by how this one trick multiplied my views by 7. And…

Broken people just create more broken people. — I don’t think I was meant the be the black sheep. I don’t think I have some noble calling or that I stood out in my family because I was just born to break cycles and do better. I think I’m just observant. Being hyper-aware taught me early on to…