Sophia San Filippo

Managing Editor & SEO Lead

Based in New York City, Sophia San Filippo has worked with Love What Matters as a lead editor and content curator since early 2019 and has acted as Managing Editor since early 2021. She is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Binghamton University who holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, Creative Writing, and Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. She is passionate about personal storytelling and creating a positive space in media to better the lives of others. On a typical day you can find her rocking out at her local concert venue, admiring nature, or baking her latest kitchen experiment.

‘My son scrunched up his nose and said, ‘I’m not black.’ I immediately filled with dread. My worst fear was being realized.’: Mom to biracial, autistic son says ‘there are no easy answers’

“‘Well bud, I’m black. My Dad is black and my Mom is white. So, if I am black, you are black. Do you understand?’ He scrunched up his nose again and had this determined look in his eyes. ‘Mom, I’m not black.’ He said it so matter-of-factly and with no room for argument.”

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‘When he outgrew cute, looks changed from compassion to disgust. Mood-altering drugs were doled out like candy.’: Special needs mom pens powerful letter, ‘He outgrew society’

“When he outgrew cute, the calls for help increased. Desperate for summer options for a 15-year-old in diapers. Desperate for anything to assist a non-verbal man child. The voices were silent. Or they whispered, ‘Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.’ When he outgrew cute, the walls caved in, and the house became a tomb.”

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‘We’ve got the eyelash extensions. We’re dribbling collagen into our coffee. We’re thinking, ‘Maybe I just need to drink more water.’: Woman urges ‘separatewho you are, from how you look’

“These products…these augmentations…these makeup-tricks…aren’t doing what we want them to do. Because what we WANT them to do is make us look 24 again. We’re years away from becoming ‘cute for their age.’ For their age. Our identity is soul-crushingly wrapped up in things that can be taken away from us.”

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‘The doctor said, ‘Not to worry. It’s just the flu.’ His throat started fluttering. They worked feverishly on his little body. I couldn’t watch.’: Mom urges ‘we need to do better’ after losing son to flu

“I looked at the nurse with tears in my eyes. ‘That little boy is the only one I have.’ His eyes rolled back. The physician started sobbing. I held up my hand to push her away. ‘I need you to come in here. I need you to talk to your son.’ I took Joseph’s hand, looked into his beautiful face, and begged him to stay. ‘He’s going to just wake up. He’s going to wake up, and we’ll go home.'”

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‘I cried and said, ‘Thank you.’ As I restrained my wailing 5-year-old, she finally found the vein. We both left bleary-eyed and spent.’: Special needs mom says ‘these little traumas add up in our hearts’

“These little traumas are hard to communicate. They remain mostly unseen. But they don’t leave us. We wouldn’t change our kids for anything. We wouldn’t change how they have changed us. But, damn, sometimes we wish we could lighten their loads.”

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‘If we send our kids to school, we’re ‘selfish.’ If we keep them home, we’re ‘living in fear.’ We’re offered strong opinions from others not even in our position.’: Mom urges ‘there is no right decision’

“Some of us have already decided. For some, it was decided for us, and some, like me, are sitting right smack dab in the middle of indecision. We’re offered strong opinions from others not even in our position. And if we’re honest, we’re over it.”

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‘Today my husband asked, ‘Why is there a pen in the fridge?’ I had no idea what he was talking about. ‘What kind of pen?’: Woman urges ‘we’re all losing your mind trying to keep it together’

“I’m tired of worrying. I’m tired of hearing about politics. I’m tired of trying to learn about coronavirus. I’m tired of the overwhelming amount of learning I need to do, almost daily, in order to keep up with what all is going on in the world right now. Y’all. I am tired. My tired is tired.”

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‘How do you send a child who doesn’t understand personal space, let alone social cues, back to school?’: Special needs mom says ‘I trust we will all make the best decision for our family’

“What do you do when you have a child who explores the world around him by touching and feeling everything he sees? Last night, I broke down. All the thoughts and emotions came pouring out of me on my bedroom floor. As a parent of a child with a disability, NOTHING can prepare us to make the type of decisions we are all abruptly facing.”

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