A major lesson for me, #8, is: don't make excuses for other people's behavior.

     It is not in my best interest nor is it my responsibility to excuse the unacceptable behavior of others. Whether inside of myself, or in the world, bearing the brunt of someone else's wrongdoing was second nature for me. From family to friends, I buried the truth about certain people because a) I thought I needed them in my life, b) I…

Continue

Continue

My voices are not the same. I write with one and live with the other. Neither of them can be confined to a box. This means, that trying to define or explain who I am as a writer - or woman - in a few generic terms, is nearly impossible.



I don't like being asked to label what I write because I find it limiting and restrictive. I loathe having to describe myself for the same reasons. Do I really need to fit into one category? If I fit into multiple categories, where do I really… Continue

When I am free

I am beautiful

because I am happy

down to the bone

because I am free.



I do not like limits, restrictions and cramped spaces. So it's ironic that they sometimes live in my mind. They camp out, get comfortable and make me forget who and whose I really am. There's a line in a Fred Hammond song - Yes He Will - that goes 'if fear moves in, evict it out'. Easier sung than done, but easier done than surrendering my life to… Continue