Posts by: Sophia San Filippo

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.

‘The police said, ‘If she gets caught using drugs, THEN it’s our problem.’ My sister was missing and vulnerable. I just wanted her back.’: Woman searches 20 years for addicted sister, ‘In looking for her, I lost myself’

“I heard my mother shout, ‘Your sister is missing! We have no idea where she is!’ I got on the next plane, determined to find her myself. Because of her mental state and drug addiction, it didn’t seem to matter to others. We were told, ‘Maybe she doesn’t want to be found.’”

Sophia San Filippo - Mar 06, 2019

‘My aunt said, ‘I hope you grow up and not sideways.’ I was the ‘fat kid’ and my father was disgusted with me.’: Woman learns to embrace plus-size body, ‘Fat is not a dirty word’

“School bullies loved to remind me of how worthless I was. I became the punchline to every joke. The word ‘fat’ was used as a weapon. I quickly learned I needed to find a man to validate me. That if I got married and made babies, then I could justify my existence. I was so tunnel-visioned I ignored red flags.”

Sophia San Filippo - Mar 06, 2019

‘I discovered a bag he had given me. When I opened it, I found something I never knew was in there. I’ll never forget reading the words I didn’t know I needed to hear.’

“I never fully looked through the bag when he gave it to me. But when I went through all the items on this day, I found something – something I had once told Dad I would love to have after he was gone.”

Sophia San Filippo - Mar 05, 2019

‘When I was 13, my family and I moved into my mother’s ‘dream home.’ Just 8 months later, things would take a drastic turn.’

“It was a helpless day. We stood outside of our home knowing there was nothing we could do. At the end of the day, we had nothing but the clothes on our back.”

Sophia San Filippo - Mar 04, 2019

‘That’s strange. Why is she lying backwards on her bed?’ She looked peaceful, like she was in a deep sleep. I rocked her. She rolled on her back, lifeless.’: Woman loses identical twin to Addison’s disease, gets winks from heaven

“We were identical twins that spent out lives together. I knocked on the door. No answer. I tried to go in, but the door was locked. Frantic, I searched for a key and opened it myself. Molly, our dog who usually bolts into Courtney’s room was now hiding in her cage.”

Sophia San Filippo - Mar 01, 2019

‘I’m Lebanese. He’s African American. No one approved of us. The longer we dated, the more friends began to slip away.’: Woman claims ‘intolerance’ only made her interracial relationship ‘grow stronger’

“We quickly found ourselves without friends, but we persisted. I remember hearing family make racist jokes and remarks like, ‘They don’t belong here.’ We were warned not to show affection for one another. But we leaned on each other when we had no one else to lean on. I never ONCE cared about the color of his skin.”

Sophia San Filippo - Mar 01, 2019

‘Something weird was happening. My abdomen started to swell. I appeared 7 months pregnant. The second we left the clinic, fear invaded us.’: Mom births quadruplets, claims she wouldn’t ‘change it for anything in the world’

“‘There’s something out of the ordinary here.’ They extracted four liters of the mystery fluid from my body, but couldn’t figure out what was wrong. They performed several tests and it was determined that, health wise, I was fine. Soon after, I decided to do a pregnancy test. I was looking at not 1 or 2 embryos, but 4. Quadruplets!”

Sophia San Filippo - Feb 28, 2019

‘It’s okay, Grandma.’ Just like that, the love of my life was gone.’: Woman shares touching moment late grandmother passes

“The next morning, I got a call. ‘She won’t answer the phone or come to the door.’ 25 nerve-wracking minutes later, we found her. I was standing at the head of the bed. I brushed her hair with one hand, her shoulder with the other. I wish I could tell you she looked peaceful, but she didn’t. She looked scared.”

Sophia San Filippo - Feb 28, 2019

‘I wasn’t the stereotypical addict on the streets with no teeth, begging for money. I had children. I was functioning. I’d get up, eat, go to the gym. Then, I’d go on a bender for days.’

“I’d do whatever I could to distract myself from the fact that I felt alone. I always wanted to stop, but I didn’t know how. People around me knew, but never said anything. It made me feel like it was okay. I didn’t realize I needed to change until I lost my children. I decided if I couldn’t beat this and see my kids again, I’d kill myself.”

Sophia San Filippo - Feb 26, 2019

‘I asked to borrow his Walkman. ‘Sure.’ My brother was breathing heavy in my ear. I froze. He told me not to tell.’: Assault survivor shares emotional journey to peace

“It began out of nowhere. I was frozen, unsure of what was happening. He told me not to tell. I knew something wasn’t right but he was my older brother, so I did what he said. Until one day, we heard my uncle’s car pull into the driveway. As he quickly opened the quickly, my brother rushed to get off of me. ‘What’s going on?!’ My stomach was in knots.”