“No competition for who has it better or worse. Just you be you, and I’ll be me. It all begins with telling your truth, and the silent permission that I can tell mine.”
‘I have no idea what that feels like. Tell me everything.’ True friends will still be there when you drop your guard.’: Woman says friendship is ‘the silent permission to tell your truth’
‘I’ve been the girl who didn’t fit in. I’m too much for some people and not enough for others. I’ve been the girl who wondered if she’d make it, and the girl who did.’: Mom loves who she is, ‘I won’t change for anyone’
“I’m the girl who is on time for this but late for that, and I’ll probably stop for an overpriced iced coffee on the way. I’m moody in the morning and in my best spirits when I know it’s Friday. I’m too tall for high heels and too short to reach the diapers on the top shelf at Walmart. I’m still not skinny enough to fit inside that crack between the washer and dryer. I’m that girl.”
‘I read a viral post about romance that read, ‘Marry the person who…’ The thing is, we marry the person who ticks our boxes.’: Woman declares ‘love isn’t a romance movie, it’s HARD work’
“People really love to paint the dream it isn’t. It’s always a simple message that declares lifelong love. Marry the person who will see you fart and pick your nose, who won’t care if you’ve gained 50 pounds.”
‘You recently ‘re-homed’ your adopted son after discovering he had autism and needs ‘you weren’t told about.’: Mom pens open letter to Myka Stauffer, ‘You tapped out right before the big pay day’
“I like pretty pictures too. This feels familiar to me. I know this because I’ve experienced both firsthand. I am not here to cast stones, nor empathize. I just want to talk, mother to mother.”
‘I found out the full extent of my mother’s lies. My dad had child support receipts dating back to the late 70s.’: Parental alienation victim says ‘if you’re not familiar with the term, I envy you’
“I grew up thinking my father was a ‘mean man who did mean things.’ There were stories he bit me and threw pots and pans when I’d cry. Five years ago, we found each other on Facebook. During our first few calls, I found out the full extent of my mother’s lies.”
‘We’ve all been exposed. Not necessarily to the virus, but BY the virus.’: Woman explains why Covid-19 is ‘tearing down our walls’
“Corona is exposing us. Exposing our weak sides, our dark sides. It’s peeling back our layers and tearing down our walls. It’s calling into question, ‘What is the church without a building? What is my worth without an income? How do we love despite risk?'”
‘You’re on an island, Melanie; an island alone!’ She yelled at me. Her words were an attempt at shaming me.’: Woman claims that being an ‘island’ allows us to grow in ways we never could before
“Some say my actions will be frighteningly regrettable. Others say I should be ashamed. Don’t get me wrong, there is a ton of shame. The shame comes when people ask how my family is and I cannot tell them my dark truths. Surely, I’m the only one. So, I keep them inside. Until now.”
‘I messed up my eyebrows so bad I drew them on for years. I shave my face and toes.’: Woman shares candid truths about her insecurities to encourage others to live authentically
“I feel like I don’t financially contribute enough to my family. I yell. A lot. I talk to God every week, but I haven’t been to church in years. I dye my hair when I’m feeling stressed.”
‘My wife knew I was gay since I was 16. ‘You need to come out of the closet.’ She was right.’: Gay man in 10-year-long straight marriage comes out gay publicly, ‘We were trapped. Something had to give.’
“I realized I was gay early on. My parents didn’t know what to do. Lolly thought I should marry a prudish Mormon girl who didn’t want sex. I thought it might be better to marry someone like her – an open, communicative girl who DID want sex. For years, she deflected the possibility of BEING the girl I married, but when I dated one of her best friends in college, and she saw me playing the part of a ‘straight boyfriend,’ she began to see me in a different light. She began to fall in love with me.”
‘I didn’t remember I had my shirt off. ‘Mama, can I take a picture of Bowie?’ I vaguely remember shifting him on my hip so she’d see him better.’: Mom felt ‘disgusted’ after postpartum photos, says it’s ‘normal to mourn your body’
“Alas, a picture was taken. I scrolled through the 50 she took of us and I was not thrilled with what I was looking at. Why? Because of my stomach. The little house this baby grew in was the reason for my disgust. It took me 3 days to even look at those pictures again.”
