humanity
Humanity begins at home.
Halloween Memories
I was the youngest of four children, and it was safe when trick or treating. We had boundaries (and generally went further). There were a couple of apartment buildings, but it was mostly houses. We all knew where the best candy was. It was before crazy people put razor blades into candy or drugs or anything to cause harm.
By Andrea Corwin 3 years ago in Families
MOTHERHOOD BIRTHS A PURPOSEFUL LIFE
Growing up as a girl child, I never for once imagined how it would be to be a Mother I watched how my parents tried to give us the best they could and how they were willing to sacrifice their comfort for our sake. I saw my mom struggle to take of us even when she was sick and could barely do much and I still couldn't understand anything all I knew was that they were responsible for us and doing what they could to live up to their responsibilities but then again I asked my If She is really happy playing that role.
By Ezinne Lilian Okoro-Arikibe3 years ago in Families
A Break in the Game
Otii was a man in his early thirties with a passion for pool. Tall and lanky, he moved around the table with the grace of a dancer. His eyes would light up whenever he stepped into the dimly lit bar such as Los Angeles Bar in Kitgum Town, the familiar scent of chalk and the sound of balls clinking together welcoming him like an old friend.
By Christopher Otika Kilama3 years ago in Families
Nurturing Bonds: The Intertwined Dynamics of Family Relationships and Emotional Resilience
Introduction: In the intricate tapestry of human experience, the significance of family relationships emerges as a linchpin for emotional resilience and psychological grip. Within the intimate realm of familial bonds, the dynamics of love, support, and understanding weave a tapestry of emotional fortitude, fostering a sense of security and belonging that transcends life's tumultuous tides. Examining the intricate interplay between family relationships and the cultivation of emotional grip unravels the profound impact of interpersonal connections in navigating life's complexities with resilience and grace.
By Morsheda Akter3 years ago in Families
My Story.
This is my story. My name is makayla. I was born is 2007. My life was amazing, I had a loving father and mother. I loved the world around me when I was younger. I never knew how dark and lonely it would become. My dad cheated on my mom with some other girl. At the time I was still a kid and didn’t really understand what that meant. But I loved my dad, as any little girl would. When they split my mom had become very depressed and wasn’t working. My dad was very happy and enjoying his life while we had nothing. My grandma had come down, she lived down south, she had come up to help my mom. My grandma worked at a small store and did not make that much money but it covered most of it. My mom wasn’t working at all. My mom would leave and come back but never told us where she was going. My dad was getting drunk and coming home at 2 in the morning while my grandma was awake making sure me and my siblings were okay. Time went on and my mom had met a boyfriend. The first day that I met him I thought he was very nice and very kind to us. After 2 months of my mom knowing him he moved in. Things changed in the house. That man was my “dad”. He never really said he was but he treated us like his kids, not in a good way. When I was about 9 I was very scared of clowns. I was in the shower one night before school, I had come out of the shower and seen that he had put a clown movie on in every room that had a TV. He knew I was scared of it, he laughed so hard like it was the funniest thing. I hated him and wished he was dead. As a kid I used to lick and suck the bottom and top lip. It would make it red and hurt bad. My moms boyfriend thought it would be a good idea to put hot sauce on my lips and that would stop me from doing it. It burned so bad. I remember we went over to his mothers house. I thought that she would back me up on this. He caught me licking my lips again, he asked his mom where she kept her hot sauce, and said that he puts it on my lips to stop me. She told him it was in the fridge. I didn’t think she would tell him and agree it was a good idea. I was a little kid, I hated that man. This man did everything he could to make me hate him even more. I used to sneak out at night and grab snacks because I was hungry and a kid. The wrappers would be in my bed in the moring and he would see them. He eventually got fed up and put dog cages around my bunk bed that me and my siblings shared. This is why I hate being in closed spaces. My mom had gotten pregnant with my brother, I was exited to meet my little brother. When I was in trouble I would lay in my bed for hours. Or in the corner and had to stand there for hours as well. I used to sit lay in my bed at a young age and ask god to take me away, to just have something bad to happen and I die. He also told me one day a boy would never love me. I have always thought that and still thinking that to this day. I was so little and wishing that I could be taken away. My siblings and I were outside playing one day. My grandmas house was the best. it was home. I had asked them if they wanted to run away and go stay with her so we wouldn’t have to deal with this. We tried but we couldn’t do it. We were scared. I remember when they would go have fun like at the mall and leave me out of it because I had a bad attitude. I felt like no one cared. One day I went over to my dads, he was in the garage working on his car, and he said something about my lips that I can’t remember. I told him that my moms bf puts hot sauce on my lips. My dad was pissed. He called the cops and I had to tell him the things he had done. After that he told me that we were gonna live with him. I was so relieved. I would miss my mom but I was so happy. I loved my dads place with his gf. It felt like home and his gf had kids too. I felt happy and that I wasn’t being treated wrong. We moved houses. My siblings and I shared a room together still. After awhile things were good. Then things took a turn. My dad and his gf were bigs drunk. They would fight almost every night, and kids were scared. One night I remember my dad screaming at his gf and his gf had to hold the door closed so he couldn’t come in and was saying hateful things, saying that his girlfriend didn’t love us. I remember crying my eyes out that night and my heart was sore. My dads girlfriend daughter came and stayed for awhile. She had bed bugs. We had bed bugs now. I remember I used to sleep with my little sister because my bed had that. One morning I pulled the sheet off and a bunch of them had ran. I was scared. I had one of my siblings go get my dad and tell him. He told me they were lady bugs and not to worry about it. He didn’t do anything about it. One day I got off the bus, my sibling came running towards me to tell me that his girlfriend had rearranged our room, and that I could sleep in my bed now. I was happy that I had my own bed, but not so happy because those bugs were still there. I had a small bottle of purfume, vanilla something from bath and body works to spray on my bed because I thought that would make them go away. Eventually I think that the teachers at school began to notice and called cps. They were coming to speak with my dad and check the house. At the dinner table one night my dad said that whoever said something would be in trouble and we would all be taken away and in bad homes and we would never see our parents again. I was nervous that would actually happen. It never did. Maybe that was just an excuse so we were be scared. Then we got lice. Lice is annoying and disgusting. Having to comb out the hair and trying everything. We had gotten everything situated and everything was good. My dad had broke up with his girlfriend before thanksgiving. She was like a second mom to me and I loved her. I tried not to cry, but my heart hurt so bad. Not understanding why this had happened. He told me I could have my own room and I was happy. Christmas came up and it wasn’t the same. My dad being a single dad was weird on holidays. He didn’t have much money for gifts. Which the part where I didn’t care that much and knew santa wasn’t real. 2020 came, I was with my dads moms house, my grandmas house. My mom picked me and my siblings, and we went to my other grandmas house. Confused why we were going there. My mom looked like she was sad. I had asked my grandma. She had told me that my moms boyfriend, had hurt her. My mom told him that she couldn’t afford the house anymore and we had to move. He got angry at that and came home. She was on her knees next to the dryer. He had bashed her head with the dyer and then began to choke her, she called the cops because she was done being abused. When she told me that I went into the bathroom and started crying. I knew he was doing that to my mom but wasn’t sure. I felt hurt and went over to my mom and hugged her because I knew she needed her kids at this time. Covid hit and we were still living with my grandma. We were all living in a small apartment, it was crowded and you had no privacy unless you went into the bathroom. I didn’t go see my dad a lot, since I was with my mom now. One day me and my siblings were out playing, when we saw my dad pass. He had a new girlfriend. I was shocked but it didn’t really matter to me that much. As time went on I was in school and going to my dads and seeing him as his new girlfriend. After my birthday party he told me his new girlfriend was pregnant. I was in shock. It had only been 2 months. I was mad, I didn’t think I would ever have another siblings. I didn’t want another sibling, I already had enough and don’t need another one and began to had the baby, but no i realize that it wasn’t hurt fault and i love her so much now. It still shocks me. After a little while we lived with my dad and it was fine. My mom had gotten a house and a new boyfriend. I didn’t really care that much. We went to my moms on weekends. I had a friend over one day, and she asked me if it was fine if her boyfriend could live with us. I was mad and said I don’t like that. She wasn’t listening to me. I got mad and went outside and she went upstairs. Her boyfriend had came outside, and we talked I felt a little better. He moved in. Then after awhile I got into a bad freind group and had gotten in trouble. I started smoking. My dad found out and screamed at me. One day at school I told the counselor that I feel like I’m gonna end it. She called both my parents. My dad thought it was because I was caught smoking and knew I was in trouble at home. My mom brought me to her house for a bit and then we went over to my dads. He had smashed my phone and my watch. He screamed at me so loud and it hurt my ears. He told me what are you gonna do overdoes on pills. I was hurt, yes parents yell but it hurt me he would say that. I went to bed that night with a sore heart and my eyes were puffy and red. I went to school. I came home and looked in this jar we kept our pencils, there was this blade in there. I used to that to self harm. I used it on my thighs. This was about the time it was christmas. So no one would see. Using the blade and feeling the pain made it better some how. When Christmas came around, my step mom had told me that she was taking us to an indoor water park, i still had some lines on my thigh. Hoping they would clear up before that day came up. I had scars on my legs hoping that no one would notice. No one did notice thankfully. My mom and her boyfriend we planning a trip to PA and we were staying in a hotel with a pool, i had cuts that were still healing up, and they weren’t healing up before we go. I covered a towel before i went into the pool and went into the water fast so no one would see. I was good. My dad had gotten a dog that was my best friend. We were play outside together, wrestling together and sleep together ever since she was a baby. My dad had also gotten another dog smaller than my dog. My dog would make everything better for me. If I had a bad day a school she would make it better. My dog always made me happy. One day I was sitting on my bed and heard screams from outside. I had looked i was wondering what happened. My step mom told me my dog had been hit. I was in shock, I just lost everything that made me happy. I was crying so bad, my eyes were filled with tears. I didn’t think losing a dog would hurt this bad. The other dog my dad had gotten I didn’t treat the same. I didn’t like that dog. The dog had used the bathroom in the living room somewhere and my dad asked me why I wasn’t watching the dog. I thought since everyone was home someone would have been watching it. He came over and yelled at me and said that my dog was dead and that I needed to get over it. I apologized that I wasn’t watch the dog and i’ll clean it up. I had felt really hurt and didn’t understand why he said that to me. It wasn’t my responsibility. Time passed and everything got worse. I was failing and losing hope in myself and felt so lonely. I felt like I wasn’t being treated right. School was very hard for me. I have an IEP and that doesn’t not help at all. I was failing my classes and school work didn’t make any sense to me. I didn’t even try because I felt like If I died no one would care. I felt like no one would be there to listen to my problems or even care. I lost hope. My mom’s boyfriend had helped my and talked to me about my problems. I felt like he listened to me and felt like a father figure. I begged my mom to let me live with her and I would do so much better. Eventually I moved in. Whenever I felt sad my father figure was there to talk to me. He told me that anytime i wanted to talk we could. Most nights we would have a fire and talk until 3 in the morning. I cried and talk to him about stuff. But still felt like I shouldn’t be here anymore. The seasons changed and my siblings moved in with us and we moved houses. I still felt lost and began hurting myself. My mom would get drunk and take off. She never told us where she was going but just left for a few house and then came back. I felt like it was all my fault that she had done this. It hurt me when she did. Time passes and my mom and her bf were deciding if they should move to PA and thinking about it. My mom drove my step dad to PA so he could get started. Eventually I felt like my mom wasn’t trying to do anything about moving to PA. I asked my step dad if they were okay. Turns out they broke up. He was down there and I lost my father figure. The one that I loved, the one i would talk to and go to. It still hurts me. He got mad at me and stopped talking to me. He told me that I was his daughter. I thought I was. Eventually my mom got her own place, I do not talk or see my dad anymore. I have a way better life and don’t want it to ever change. That’s my story.
By Makayla Maines3 years ago in Families
The hated father
The Wiltshire family was nothing out of the ordinary. They lived in a modest house on a quiet street, far from the bustling city life. John Wiltshire, the father, was a simple man with modest dreams, but he had always believed in the power of hard work and sacrifice. His greatest hope in life was to give his son, Daniel, a better future.
By Esovrukave3 years ago in Families
$17 Dollar Mashed Potatoes. Top Story - October 2023.
Life has given me the opportunity to explore other means of employment on my terms. I have enjoyed spending my afternoon hours running DoorDash for the community. I have met some very nice people while doing so. Seriously, the walls of my office space were closing in and I had to explore other means of escape.
By Sheila L. Chingwa3 years ago in Families
Niagara Falls has Frozen Over
Niagara Falls is the largest waterfall in the world. Not because of it’s height or width, but because of its volume. It’s extremely rare for a waterfall to have such a continuous stream: more than 6 million cubic feet of water go over the crest line of the falls every second during the day. The sheer size of the thing usually keeps it from freezing over, and that’s probably a good thing! The falls might be breathtaking for tourists, the eighth wonder of the world really, surrounded as it is by fun amusements and chocolate shops and casinos. Big boats. And hotel rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the water.
By Catharine Rhodes3 years ago in Families
