Top Stories
New stories you’ll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
Learning to Speak Another Love Language
The only word I learned in my high school Spanish class was baño. My teacher rolled her eyes when my hand went up and responded, "¿otra vez?".
Katie BrozenPublished 3 years ago in HumansBTS achieved these 7 massively impressive milestones in 2020
It's a bit wild to think it has been a full calendar year since countries went into strict lockdowns and our respective "new normal" of social distancing began.
Ghezal AmiriPublished 3 years ago in BeatThe Edge
Somewhere, or perhaps sometime, in some distant land or alternate plane, there exists a world that is not round. Not round at all, but indeed very flat and very limited. Its inhabitants are accustomed to its shape. In fact, they have built their lives in straight lines, clean angles, sharp corners; hardly ever a man-made circle in sight. To them, time marches on in one linear path they all must follow. One is born, one lives, and one dies. That is the natural order of things.
Sarah BrucePublished 3 years ago in FuturismBeing Barefoot Gives you Superpowers
In the year 2017, I was living in a tiny Shepherd's hut in the Highlands of Scotland . It was remote and unconventional, but it was how I wanted to live. Occasionally, I would go hiking in the mountains. I'd do this without boots, shoes or sandals. I'd go barefoot. The fellow climbers I encountered on these hikes gave me quizzical looks and asked me probing questions.
Michael HowkinsPublished 3 years ago in LongevityDear Chronic Illness, You Won't Stop Me Travelling
Having battled with a chronic illness for the past 11 years, I have spent a lot of time reading travel magazines, finding myself wishing my body would afford me the same experiences as those I read about; summiting mountains, week-long hikes, kayaking fjords…
Stephanie ArnoldPublished 3 years ago in WanderA Woman in Baseball
Living in a baseball town like St. Louis, people learn a lot about baseball. The New York Yankees have won the most World Series Championships. Marc McGwire hit 583 home runs in his career and had over 1,400 RBIs (runs batted in). Ozzie Smith was a 15 time All Star. Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs in his career but also led the league in strike outs 5 times. Everybody knows this.
Sharon KoehlerPublished 3 years ago in UnbalancedYou Can No Longer Trust The Mirror Selfies.
There are several types of people who decry social media. Some of them bring peer-reviewed articles and facts. These people are usually accurate and justified, and sometimes annoying at parties.
Malvika NairPublished 3 years ago in StyledYou're in your thirties, you wish you could go back in time, and you need some cheering up.
If you're anything like me, you tend to spiral down into the dark places of your mind once in a while. One negative thought entrains another, and before you realize it, you're making the list of everything that's wrong in your life and in the world at large without being able to stop yourself.
The April Calendar of Celebrations, Part One
Spring is here, hopefully, and the world is beginning to emerge from more than a year of lockdowns, shutdowns and states-of-emergency. Our freedom and safety might still be fragile but the time is starting to feel right for a celebration...or thirty.
TheSpinstressPublished 3 years ago in FYIThe Pain of Being an Elite Athlete and a Woman.
I like to think of myself as a fairly optimistic and strong-willed person, but I have days of sadness, stress, and pain, just like everyone else. Behind the positive quotes, affirmations, and meditations lies a girl just trying to do her best. I write this with welled-up eyes and a deep tightness in my chest because as I train for my second Olympic Games during a worldwide pandemic, I feel like I'm about to break.
Elizabeth CuiPublished 3 years ago in VivaBikini Bottom Was Actually a Nuclear Testing Site
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Things are rarely as they seem. The innocent and silly SpongeBob SquarePants is no exception. First premiering in 1999 the show was wildly popular with children and adults alike. Created by a marine educator turned animator, Stephen Hillenburg, few people are aware of the sinister beginnings of Bikini Bottom, the home of SpongeBob and friends.
Maria CalderoniPublished 3 years ago in FYIWe Need To Redefine The Term 'Ladylike'
How we dress says everything about us. It's the first introduction we give out without actually introducing ourselves; people's first perception of us. I've lost count of the amount of times I've been told I'm "unladylike" because of my oversized, boyish clothing. "Why don't you wear tighter-fitting clothing and show off your body? That's not ladylike."
Jesse BixbyPublished 3 years ago in Viva7 Steps for Developing Digital Images
Prior to digital photography, developing images was best left to the experts. Today, with the intelligence built into modern cameras, the camera can handle the processing and do it fairly well. But once you progress to where you are truly getting it right in camera, the next step is to learn to develop your own images. Here are five steps to getting that done.
Darryl BrooksPublished 3 years ago in PhotographyHow VOCAL Turned Me into a Gambler
From a sane, mature, mother of five to an obsessive maniac walking around mumbling to myself and imagining the winning story for the next challenge.
Maria CalderoniPublished 3 years ago in JournalIn Defense of Poetry
You say poetry is nonsensical that it is overly emotional and thus encourages the delusional To the point of being inconsolable
The Best Investment I've Ever Made in My Writing
Specialized ads freak me out. They really do. At the same time, those freaky ads can come in handy when you need a new distraction.
sleepy draftsPublished 3 years ago in MotivationHelmets Don't Save Lives
The conversation on concussion prevention within American football cannot be had without discussing why. The right question to ask is not why concussions occur but why it’s important to limit and prevent them. Within the last decade, a multitude of former NFL players who have been diagnosed with a brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) have taken their own lives. This is not a coincidence but a serious reality faced by real people. Does this mean that the long-term effects of repeated concussions can lead to severe brain changes? Evidently, and if so, what exactly are those changes and just how damaging can the effects be?
JoyPublished 3 years ago in UnbalancedThis could save your life
I'm 27 as I write this, 19 when it happened. I composed this piece in an effort to help other women understand potential human trafficking tactics and/or potential kidnapping scenarios. I share this because while it happened nearly 10 years ago, it wasn't until this year (2021) that I realized the tremendous danger I could have found myself in had things ended differently.
Lexie RobbinsPublished 3 years ago in VivaThe Merry Sex Life of Charles II
There were many reasons, Charles II (1660-1685) of Britain was known as the ‘merry monarch’. To begin with, he was the symbol of Restoration England, following 11 years of unrest and instability that ended with the restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland when Charles II ascended the throne. Without Charles’ royal patronage there would have been no St. Paul’s Cathedral, Kensington Palace, Chelsea Royal Hospital, or even No. 10 Downing Street.
Peeping_SoulPublished 2 years ago in FYIPerfect Foundation vs The History of Mexico
My skin is the color of Mexican nationalism. I am a product of (at least) Indigenous and Spanish roots on both sides of my family, from Northern and Southern Mexico, from flour and corn tortillas. Mexico was one of the first colonized countries that advocated for miscegenation, because it would “whiten” the entire country, and the mixed race people could be known as La Raza, as foretold and advocated by José Vasconcelos. I grew up saying “Para La Raza!” (for the race) without knowing the originally racist implications - now I say “para la gente!” (for the people). Because being Latinx is an ethnicity and not a race, then people of many races are Latinx. You don’t even have to speak Spanish to be Latinx, as Brazil and Haiti are Latin American countries. However, having been raised in the Southwestern US, I grew up with the understanding that I looked like the stereotypical Latina. I’m brown with brown eyes, black hair, and short with a round face, and when I talk quickly or with strong emotion, my Chicana accent comes out. Now, I know that not all Latinx people have to look or be like me, even other Mexicans don’t look like me, since I have been trying to surpass the anti-Blackness and anti-Indigeneity taught in Mexican culture.
Ariana GonBonPublished 3 years ago in Viva