“You have the entire world at your finger tips, but that world is whatever you decide to make it. We cannot apologize for the things we want when and if they do not fall in line with the expectations the world has set for us.”
‘Never apologize for what you want. You have to go for it. You can’t compare your path with the path of others.’: Woman says ‘forge your own way and own it’
‘Sorry, I’m just tapped out.’ I said this to my kids’ teacher as she requested a private zoom. I’m trying to function in the unfunctionable.’: Mom of 5 says ‘we’re freaking rockstars’
“At the same time as this, I had two other kids hopping on their google meets, I had to pull my oldest from her work to hold the baby, the kids’ Dad had a call just starting, and as I struggled with my laptop to even find which Godforsaken link I needed to even click, I was ready to crumble.”
‘Finally,’ I thought, ‘I’m going to get SO MUCH DONE!’ I burnt out, and I burnt out HARD. My husband sat me down. ‘What’s going on with you?’: Woman urges ‘take each day as it comes’
“I started snapping at my family and avoiding the few social Zoom meetings I was invited to. I was gripped every day by a threatening cloud of anxiety of ‘not getting enough done’ and ‘not taking advantage of this time off.’ My husband sat me down on the couch. ‘What’s going on with you?’ I dove right in.”
It’s okay to say, ‘WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?’ It’s okay to actually freak out.’: Woman says ‘it’s okay to not be okay’ during quarantine
“It’s okay if you lose your patience in between a meeting and cooking a meal and setting up circle time and being asked 1,000 questions about snacks and TV shows and playing tag outside and trying to think of where you last saw their sneakers.”
‘We might all be going through this together, but your feelings are still unique to you. Nobody gets to tell you how to feel.’: Widow shares words of wisdom for those struggling through pandemic
“One day, my family was intact. We were running around doing all the things, laughing and joking and being busy. The next, it was shattered. On Thursday, June 23, 2016, my husband was alive, and on Friday, June 24th, 2016, he wasn’t. And nothing has been the same since.”
‘I hid it so well from my parents and best friends. ‘How does everybody else do this?’ I lived in total denial.’: Woman with anxiety disorder says ‘owning your struggle makes you beautiful’
“Others around me began to catch on. I was vomiting constantly against my will and obsessively washing my hands. I began to lose weight and drink to ease my fears. I was covering up my secret for 10 years.”
‘It is Day 14 of quarantine in my house with my two children. I don’t know what to do with myself right now. I feel overwhelmed and antsy.’: Woman says during quarantine ‘One breath. One step. One hour at a time. We will carry on.’
“One breath. One step. One hour at a time. We will carry on, in whatever manner we can. Not because we are in control or because we know things, but because we choose to show up and love every piece of ourselves. Steady on, my friends. We are in this together.”
‘I wouldn’t let my husband touch them. I wanted pretty boobies, whatever that meant. I was ‘large’ and gravity became my enemy.’: Woman urges ‘do what you need to in this life’ after breast augmentation
“I’ve always hated my breasts, ever since high school. I couldn’t wear the cute sundresses like my girlfriends. I couldn’t wear sexy lingerie or bikinis…they just sagged. Yeah, I said it…sagged. I made a decision back in November that I wanted to get a boob job. I wanted ‘pretty’ boobies, whatever that meant.”
‘I left a toxic relationship, loaded up whatever I could fit in my 2-door coupe, and moved to a state where I knew no one.’: Mom says ‘the true fairytale on Valentine’s Day is that I found myself’
“Pretty soon social media will be overflowing with hearts, flowers, and all sorts of mushy feelings. Bless us, we love a good commercialized holiday. But my heart is with the ones who are single, unsettled, and still searching. To the wife who sent her spouse to work today without a kiss, because there’s so much distance between them right now it’s insufferable.”
‘When my dad whispered, ‘I love you,’ I knew it was more than that. It was a final goodbye. They were ready to let go.’: Woman diagnosed with eating disorder at 13 finally accepts help, ‘I am ready to start the next, better, decade of my life’
“My parents had shed too many tears over me, and I couldn’t bear it to break their hearts again. I felt ready to die, but knew it wasn’t my time. I was weak. I gave up the reigns and opted for inpatient treatment. I was frustrated, and I let this be known. I would shout and hit the walls. I would argue. But gradually, I came to life again. I am no longer held back by my demons.”
