Family
White Privilege on Parade: The trouble with St. Patrick's Day
Thanks to COVID-19, Cleveland’s 2021 St. Patrick’s Day parade has been canceled for the second straight year. First held in 1842, the parade’s incredible staying power is a testament to its popularity. St. Patrick’s Day in Cleveland has always been a celebration of Irish survival in the face of adversity.
Ashley HerzogPublished 3 years ago in ConfessionsDeath and It's Aftermath
I wasn't a stranger to death on the night my twin died. Sally had just been the only person I'd never contemplated having to live without.
Natasja RosePublished 3 years ago in ConfessionsAmerican Cheese
"Who DID IT?!" It had been long months, long weeks, and long days since I had seen my sisters. And even longer since I had seen my parents. But what a homecoming.
B. PrattPublished 3 years ago in ConfessionsSecondary
I love my job because…. Actually - honestly - it is really difficult to love anything about my job. The person I work for hardly speaks to me, so I am constantly left guessing what he needs or wants and there’s never any recognition of a job well done. If I get a promotion, it’s only after my father either hands over his responsibilities because he can no longer continue or after his death. Can’t say I look forward to the circumstances of that promotion. There’s no benefits or overtime for this 24/7/365 job. Actually, there’s not even any real extra workers. And folks love to complain about having to kiss a customer or boss’s ass? How about wiping it? Yep - part of my job. Welcome to the unglamorous world of caregiving!
Megan Baker (Left Vocal in 2023)Published 3 years ago in ConfessionsWhat They Don't Tell You about Abortion
The silence was thick, only occasionally broken by the squeaking metal door and the numbing call of names I couldn't register. I stared at my shoes trying not to make eye contact with a girl from my high school chemistry class. She too looked down as she sat against the gray green adjacent wall, ten feet away from me.
Confessions of an Undercover People PleaserPublished 3 years ago in ConfessionsGenuine Online Astrology Services in India
India is one of the finest and top-rated countries which supports the beneficial routes of digitalization. Every field in India is increasing its values in the digital platform. So Astrology is also circulating its divine truth all over the internet. Many Genuine Online Astrology Services In India are waving their best deals. Astrology is at the peak because this divine energy can support the universe in gaining much insight about the future. Everybody can get valuable imposition of planets on their life and how to deal with those suffering times. There will be no risks to your life if you will get the pleasing effects of planets and stars in your Horoscope. So, astrology can be the torchbearer to gain a lot of succeeding paths in our life.
AishaPublished 3 years ago in ConfessionsCustomized
The first time I customized my room was when I was 7. I had a beautiful room that was Rainbow Fish themed. I loved the walls and patterns shimmering with a tinsel-y texture like the scales on Rainbow Fish, my fancy bean bag chair, my tv, my bed, everything. I loved that my dad had made this room for me. He’d painted each of our rooms, made my brother a custom bed and was a man of all trades (except, my mom made him hire a professional for all things electrical after he electrocuted himself in ‘99). I loved my room and knew how much hard work he had put into it. So to this day, I don’t know what came over me. All I really remember from my thought process was I had just watched Shawshank Redemption earlier. I rummaged through our kitchen drawers, pulled out the dullest butter knife, and crawled under my bed.
QuirkyMinPublished 3 years ago in ConfessionsThe Family Dog Knew I Had Cancer
Animals have a special sensing that goes beyond some of the sixth sense or heightened senses that most humans have. Without even talking or speaking there’s an empathy that animals can feel despite being a different species than the human species. When I was younger there was a family dog, and the last family pet of my grandparents. To give some backstory my grandparents had a Boston terrier that they loved and then after the passing of that beloved Boston terrier. My grandparents got another family dog and then this dog would be the last pet that they ever had, and also the best pet they ever had.
Samantha ParrishPublished 3 years ago in ConfessionsTo Cancer: You Are Scary. And Yet, You Have Some Importance. This Is For You Mom.
Dear Cancer, You are everywhere in today's society aren't you? People all over the world are affected by you every moment of every day. You are absolutely terrifying, but you also teach us the importance of life. You decided to impact me and my family in 2006. My mom was 32 years old, too young of an age to be fighting for her life, with two kids who needed her more than anything and a family who would have never healed if you had taken her away. What is even worse is that you affect children, even babies, who have not even begun to live their lives. Innocent, beautiful lives are hurt, destructed, and torn to pieces because of you. But, for my family and I, you only made us grateful for the life we are given. And for me, you opened my eyes that this life could end in the blink of an eye; at any moment. My mom's story is beautiful, special, and rare. She was 32 years old, as I stated, I was 8 years old and my brother was about 12-13 years old. In the beginning, she was sick, with flu-like symptoms, which is why we were not too concerned about taking her to the hospital. Also, this was in January so flu season was at its highest. Then as time progressed, she began to get sicker and sicker, day by day death grew closer. As a young girl, I was unsure of what was happening to my mother, yes I was afraid, concerned, confused, and nervous, but I did not know what could be wrong with her. I only knew that seeing her so ill was painful. She finally went to the doctor, where they found out she had Leukemia. For those of you who do not know, most people diagnosed with Leukemia do not survive. The chance of living is a very small percent. They told her that they needed to start treating her right away, because if she would wait any longer she would die. Actually, they were surprised she had not yet died. When I went to the hospital to find out what was wrong, I remember my father and her both sat me down on the hospital bed, and I, being young, asked if she was pregnant. I remember thinking to myself, vomiting is a sign of pregnancy, so it could be possible. And, God, did I hope that she was, I had hoped that this nightmare would go away as quickly as possible. However, I soon realized that the nightmare was only just beginning. They laughed, and said "no sweetie" or something like that. And proceeded to tell me that my mother had been diagnosed with cancer, specifically a very rare, and bad cancer. "Cancer", I knew was not a good word in itself. My mom looked at me, as tears filled my eyes, and told me that she was going to fight as hard as she could to beat this. Of course, I believed her, she was and is the strongest woman I have ever met. So, that is what she did every day, fought for her life, and most importantly fought so that she would be able to see her children grow. She went through chemotherapy, so she began to lose her hair, everywhere. Honestly, this was hard for me, because I had always known my mother to be beautiful, not that she was not beautiful anymore, but you know what I mean, the illness was taking over. Before she had such long, beautiful, soft hair, a "light up the room" kind of smile, her skin always glowing and tanned, her hands bare, and her eyes gleaming and wide. Now, with cancer, she had no hair, not even eyelashes, her smile, still staying strong, but fearful, her skin a yellow color and cold, her hands showed many greenish blue veins and on the one hand was an IV, and her eyes were dark and focused. I will never forget seeing her for the first time, I felt as if I did not even recognize my own mother. Also, I was not really allowed to be close to her because of my germs, so that made me feel distant, like I was going to make her illness worse. I did not want to be the cause of her death, by giving her my "little kid" germs, so I only hugged her or went near her when she or the doctors told me it was okay to do so. This also hurt my feelings because it was hard to know that her own daughter, me, was not able to comfort her. Like I was some kind of infection. Being older now, I realize it was only to protect her, but my 8 year old self felt left-out and disappointed. Anyway, watching my mother each day made me realize that life is precious. Yes, at 8 years old, I was thinking about how quickly my own life could disappear, and in that moment I felt so much. I told myself I needed to start telling people how much I care about them, and that saying "I love you" is something I needed to start saying more often. Basically, I felt that expressing my emotions and feelings to everyone was something I needed to do, each and every day. So, cancer, you have taught me that I could lose the ones I love without any warning, that I, myself could be gone at any moment. So, why not be who I want to be, say what I feel while I have the chance, tell people how much they mean to me, explore as much as possible, inspire others, make the most out of this life and just be happy. Happy for what I have and who I have in my life. Because life could always be worse, and most of the time someone else out there has it way worse, we just do not all realize that until something as tragic as you comes along. The bad news, at one point the doctors told us my mom only had about a 10-20 percent chance of surviving. The cancer caused other illnesses to come along, like pneumonia and her immune system was not strong enough to fight it. Thankfully she had amazing doctors, a loving family to support her, and God watching over her. We all knew He could either take her to his Kingdom with Him or allow her stay with her children and her family. And today, she is a living miracle, because the good news, my mother beat you, she won the battle. 11, almost 12 years in remission, away from the ugliness that you are. They say 15 years is when you can usually say you are "cured". But, to me, you will always still be there, you are there, hurting someone else and breaking their families. And, yes, I do still worry about my mom every day, and I pray that you do not return. And as always, I live my life to my best ability. Taking one day at a time, and leaving the rest up to God. I believe everything in this world happens for a reason, and I know for a fact that you happened for a reason, too. I have come to realize when we go through hard times, we can either come out to be stronger and better people or let it ruin us completely. Sometimes, I think we all go through tragedy to see how strong we are, and in the end we can either take the positives or negatives from them. I will always take the positives from each negative situation in my life, I promised my 8 year old self that. You helped me grow, learn, and the most significant, experience the worst of life; which honestly turned out to be good. You inspired my mom, helped her grow stronger, and made her more thankful for each day. And you brought my family closer together, which is something we needed at that time. I often wonder what life would have been like if I had lost her. I know I would still be the person I am because I would have trusted in whatever God decided to do. But, I know in my heart that my mom was meant to stay here with me, she was meant to watch me grow into a little miniature version of her. I aspire to be like my mom every day, and when she beat cancer it only made me see what kind of woman she truly is. So strong, so fearless, so inspirational, so powerful, so wise, and so beautiful. A woman that every one should look up to. So here is to you cancer, you took on one incredible woman. And, to you mom, some children are not as lucky as me, and some patients are not as lucky as you. So you and I both know, that there is so much to be thankful for every day.
Katlyn OliverPublished 3 years ago in ConfessionsBrain Surgery
Most authors tell young writers to write about what they know. At times that can be difficult since what you know is very personal to you. You want to write about fantasy, fiction, anything else except what is actually personal to you with maybe a hint in your stories about the person you are in writing it.
Paul DeosaranPublished 3 years ago in ConfessionsThis is How Toxic Masclunity causes Misogyny
This popular term is translated as the hate, dislike, or contempt of women simply because they bear certain body parts and attributes that make them women. Misogyny is a term that is heard about, written about, and discussed with a lot less rage than issues like men’s rights, misandry, or man-hating behavior.
QalamPublished 3 years ago in Confessions12 Years a Slave
12 years a slave. For 12 years I was married to a bad decision. Someone who I knew from the beginning was a piece of work. A piece of work I thought I could fix. Someone I thought I could love enough, heal enough to bring out the best in him. The best in us! Oh how I was wrong. Almost like a dog returns to their vomit, this man returned to what was always there before he was even gone. I think that’s what hurts the most. I thought I was loved differently. Thought I was seen and loved for who I really am. The whole time I was being cased like a bank. Robbers come in dressed as normal patrons, acting as if they belong, only to find the weakest points so that they can take as much as they can, as quick as they can. Except in my case it wasn’t quick. My chosen husband was probably licking his lips in anticipation on how much he could take from me without actually giving anything.
Alicia LarkinsPublished 3 years ago in Confessions