As A Little Girl, I Used To Pray I’d Wake Up With A Penis
I didn’t have one of those coming out moments that involves hugs and tears and “I love you no matter what,”. Sitting in the cheap and rusty fold-up chair in my sweltering high-school auditorium, my...
View ArticleThe First Time I Cared About Myself More Than The Consequences
I am doing this at the risk of people who may criticize or question me, because at least some part of me knows: If I don’t, something worse will happen to me, and soon. I’m not supposed to be here....
View ArticleHow Music Is Helping Me Cope With Turning 40
There’s something about the music that you grew up with that gives it a place in your heart forever. In the summer of 2017, I went to see the band U2 play at Soldier Field in Chicago. The tour...
View ArticleI Used To Be A Compulsive Liar
The lies continued, and they became hard to keep straight. I didn’t remember who knew what. The first lie I consciously remember telling was in elementary school. I told everyone at school that I had...
View Article27 Little Things You Can Do For Yourself Today To Lessen Depression
When depression has you in its grip, try these simple ways to feel better. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 350 million people worldwide suffer from some type of depression; it’s one...
View ArticleBreaking Up With A Friend Is Actually Really Healthy
Not all of our friendships were meant to last. Some days it feels like the world is crumbling around us, and it’s hard to do much more than go home and crawl under our bedsheets to shut everything out....
View Article7 Signs Your Friend Is A Fake Friend
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice… Some friendships are so strong, they last through middle school awkwardness, cross-country college acceptance, marriages and kids. Others barely survive happy...
View ArticleI Had A Lot Of Feelings When I Shaved My Legs For The First Time In Two Years
It seemed like if you were a woman, at least in the United States, you just shaved your legs. So I did. My feelings about my leg hair are best described as complicated. You see, I have thick, wiry,...
View ArticleHere’s The *Real* Reason You Should Stop Caring About What Others Think
I’ve been thinking about perception a lot lately. Well, to be fair, it has been an obsession for the last 10 years. Perception, and specifically how you perceive yourself vs how others perceive you....
View ArticlePlease Don’t Compliment My Weight Loss
I’ve had multiple people tell me, “I wish I had your illness to keep me in shape.” Recently, I dropped a significant amount of weight in a short time. The response from my friends and family has been...
View Article6 Hacks For Being An Organized Bitch
Think of you daily planner like a safety blanket. When a friend asks when I’m free, I check my planner. When my boss quickly passes on a task to me, I write it in my planner. When I go to book in an...
View Article5 Expert Hacks For Calming Your Overactive Mind Before Bed
You’ve been dreaming about going back to bed since you got up that morning. So, when you finally climb into your comfy bed, you’re excited to lay down your weary head and drift off to the land of nod....
View ArticleThe Silent Grief Of Secret Illness
Illness is intensely personal, but it never affects the person diagnosed alone. Like a lot of women in America, I’m a huge fan of Nora Ephron. The HBO documentary on her life, Everything is Copy, was a...
View ArticleI Don’t Want To Be A Parent, Except When I Hear You’re Having A Baby
Even though I know I have no business having a baby, it feels like a door closing on my fingers every time I see it happen to someone else. I’ve just learned that friends are expecting in August. Mixed...
View ArticleWhy I’ll NEVER Tell My Son To “Man Up”
I’ll be receiving “The Worst Parent at the Park Award,” again. I’d start prepping my acceptance speech, but guiding my sobbing son to our car is stealing focus. When our boy was a toddler his...
View ArticleHere’s What Your 8 Most Common Dreams Mean
Your dreams might be a way to escape, but they can also be a way to fix your reality. Ever wake up stuck on your dream from the night before? Whether you just jolted back to life after a terrifying...
View ArticleWhy I Am Thankful That I Did Not Have a Black Son
In a way that almost feels cruel, I find myself thanking God that he didn’t give me a boy. When I was 19 and pregnant, I remember praying, “Dear God, please let me have a boy.” For weeks, I only looked...
View Article7 Ways To Win Literally ANYONE Over In 60 Seconds
It’s easier than you think. Have you ever wished you could get that super hot guy to come over and talk to you, or stand up to your impossible-to-please, power-hungry boss, or get up and speak in front...
View ArticleHow My Friendship Almost Suffocated Me
Even the very best of friends need space. A few years ago, I decided to move in with a good girlfriend of mine. It was the worst thing to happen to our friendship. Before I knew it, we were living...
View ArticleI Threw A Party To Find Out What My Friends’ Vaginas Look Like
The vagina party of self-discovery. Three years ago, my friend Melissa and I stumbled onto a Playboy magazine in her apartment. Naturally curious, we flipped it open and began thumbing through glossy...
View Article