“If I could go back to that girl walking down the aisle, crying as she looked at the love of her life, thinking this was forever, I wouldn’t whisper in her ear to not do it.”
I Thought I’d Be Married Forever, But People Change
‘What’s wrong with her?’ I’d sit in the corner and draw for hours. I always knew something was different about me.’: Woman shares autism diagnosis journey, ‘Different is beautiful’
“People would say hello to me, and I’d ignore them. There’s a myth black girls don’t have autism, so they didn’t think to test me. I was called crazy, moody, shy, or a brat, but I was far from any of those things.”
‘They don’t look like they’re brothers. My boys have the same mom and dad. They are not the same.’: Mom urges us to take action against racism, ‘Show your kids there’s beauty in their differences’
“I live in white suburbia. There will come a day when I have to explain to my kids why they are being treated differently than their friends or even each other. When they grow up and ask me what I did to effect change, I hope they’ll be proud of my response.”
‘While sobbing like a teenager who was stood up at prom, I finally found it. I am fighting for my sanity and for my life.’: Woman diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder says ‘you are not alone’
“I woke up on Sunday like normal. I had broken plans with my boyfriend earlier in the week. We were supposed to go to a friend’s house to watch the Super Bowl with them. Out of nowhere I started feeling SO guilty about not being there. And it happens. I break.”
‘There’s an issue with her hand.’ I was scared. It was inverted backwards, and she only had 3 fingers.’: Mom ‘shocked’ after daughter born with limb difference, ‘I was determined to protect her every way I could’
“The moment I gave birth to her, I noticed the doctor and nurses exchanged glances. They wrapped her up before handing her to me. ‘We want to get her cleaned up first.’ I didn’t understand. I quickly opened her up and checked. I was shocked. I told my husband, ‘God created her like that.’ The doctors were accusing me I ‘must’ve taken drugs’ while I was pregnant. ‘Her deformity is the reaction the drugs had on the baby,’ they said. Babies ‘like these’ come with ‘a lot of baggage.’ She is different, not less.”
‘I feel something.’ Not a single OBGYN had ever touched me above the shoulders. Now I am different.’: Woman diagnosed with thyroid cancer after switching doctors, ‘I panicked’
“My gynecologists had never touched me anywhere except the obvious pink parts. This exam was different. I felt her palpate the right side of neck. She returned to that one spot 3 times. I was frantic. Then, I let go and let life happen.”
‘I’ve never imagined myself with a white woman.’ I wasn’t offended, I was honored. He feels safe with me.’: Interracial couple form beautiful blended family
“An older black woman at my church said to me, ‘You two are healers…I can sense it. It is healing you both and it is healing the world.’ Kevin wasn’t the first black man I’d dated, but I was starting to hope he’d be the last.”
‘You wouldn’t know, you don’t have a real sister.’ I was in third grade, when I suddenly stopped.’: Transracial adoptee declares she is ‘brown and deeply connected to her white family’
“I was squeaking down the linoleum hallway with my friend when she informed me with a smack of her bubble gum and a toss of her blonde hair that my sister was in fact, not real. As far as I knew, my sister was real. We had real fights. We exchanged real eye-rolls behind our parents’ backs. We slipped real ‘I’m sorry’ notes under each other’s doors after calling each other names. We were real sisters.”
‘I hope that’s not his stroller! Is it?!’ Of course it is! There’s no reason my son can’t play with a baby doll.’: Mom ‘proud’ of son for caring for his baby dolls like a real-life daddy
“I was caught off guard. ‘Why don’t you give him a sibling or a dog to play with instead of a doll?’ There’s no reason my son can’t play with babies or dolls or anything deemed ‘too girly.’ Why? Because one day, my son may choose to become a father. You’re not going to tell your adult son he’s too ‘manly’ to change his newborn child’s diaper, are you?! Doubt it.”
‘Are you a boy or a girl?’ My daughter responded with the craziest look on her face. ‘I’m a girl!’ I knew she was gay.’: Mom creates ‘safe space’ for her daughter to be ‘whoever she wants’
“By the time she was 4, her tomboy phase became something different. I remember getting her ready for school. ‘Mom, I want to dress like a girl today!,’ she said. I went out to the living room and told my husband to ‘not make a big deal about what she was wearing.’ He was her protector.”
