Lindsey Altom
Bio
For me, writing runs in the blood. I've written songs, poems and short stories ever since I was a little girl. I mostly like to write about my life experiences mixed with a little fiction or just things that come off the top of my head!
Stories (96)
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Prey
Since the beginning of time, women have been seen as the lesser sex in most cultures. We are not seen as the powerhouses that we truly are, we are seen as weak and helpless. Men prey on us as if we are some prize to be won. If you are a woman you know this is true. From the time you are a young girl, your taught to smile, be pretty, stand tall, act lady like...your putting on a show. You are taught to seek a man, a good man that will take care of you. It is never questioned why it is you need to be taken care of in the first place? As a young girl, your mentally screwed from the very start. Most of us are because we have been taught that we need a man, seek one out that will take good care of you, you need to dress pretty for him but also modestly because you don't want to distract him. You are not taught that you are enough just as you are and can in fact take care of yourself or that you don't need a man but it is okay to want one or for that matter to want to be romantic with another girl. They also don't teach the little boys to control their own actions. No, that is left for us girls. We have to be tough, tuck those emotions under the rug, save face and be presentable in all occasions. As a young woman it unfortunately doesn't get much better. As you blossom and come into your womanhood suddenly your seen as prey. Boys will seek you out if they think your pretty. They try to take what is not theirs to take. You say no but they hear yes. Tell me girl, haven't you ever pulled your jacket tighter, looked at the floor and sped up your pace? Haven't you ever told a man to stop calling you baby just for him to call you crazy because he was simply being nice? Have you ever felt beaten and bruised by the hands of a man but couldn't see any physical signs? If you speak up, they say you've ruined his life. He's such a nice, upstanding citizen. How dare you? Don't you know your supposed to keep your mouth shut? Your called a bitch, tramp, slut, whore...spit on, cussed at...stay quiet girl. He's so nice. We're taught this. To stay quiet, stand tall, stay strong, we are the quiet warriors. We are supposed to remember our place in this world, in this patriarchy.
By Lindsey Altomabout a year ago in Viva
Home
To some, this may only look like an old, dilapidated, worn-out barn that needs to be torn down but to me it was so much more as was the land that surrounded it. Myself and my cousins had acres upon acres upon which to grow, learn, discover and breathe. This barn and the farm around it was my escape from the hard realities of life and childhood. It was here that I could run, play, climb, scream, laugh, pretend and mostly just be myself. This barn was where I first discovered my deep connections to nature. I spent hours with my legs hanging over the edge of that loft writing my dreams, thoughts, desires and pain into my little pink diary. I sit there listening to the birds, the sounds of my Papa working on another project in his workshop, watching my Granny Woods in the fields of her garden, the smell of dirt, fresh vegetables and freshly cut wood filling my senses. When I was eight years old, the freshly cut smell of wood stopped as my Papa went on to see Jesus. We still had my granny though and after that my great Aunt Dorothy became a more frequent visitor. My cousins and myself grew up helping my great aunt and my granny shell peas, pick vegetables from the garden, take my granny's wheelbarrow to and from wherever she needed it. I learned to love the feel of the dirt under my fingernails and the smell of freshly turned dirt became a nostalgia for me.
By Lindsey Altomabout a year ago in Photography
The Path to Recovery
Today, I cried. I wasn't planning on crying in my therapy session but isn't that how it always happens? It's never expected when you break down but suddenly you can't breathe, your anxiety is at max capacity and you feel like the last two years didn't even happen for a few minutes. This years resolution? To get mine and my daughter's last name changed. We will right this wrong. I plan to ask for one last thing from my abuser, I want him to sign his rights away to my daughter. We haven't seen him in over a year, my daughter wants nothing to do with him and we both want this fixed. There was a time where I thought him adopting her was going to be so wonderful and he would be an amazing father to her but now I realize the truth. The adoption was always a mistake and I shouldn't have let it happen. However, we can't judge ourselves for things we didn't know at the time right? We can't judge ourselves for not knowing there was a monster lying under the surface. I can say there were a million red flags and I should've known but does that help anything now? No, I suppose not. It is what it is and this is a wrong I will right. My daughter will have her birth last name back and so will I. My daughter and son will have the same last name again and I will go back to my maiden name. However, the thought of having to see my abuser again has my nerves shot. The tears stream as I remember the fear. Those last few days I was truly afraid for mine and my children's lives. Every chance he got I was berated, verbally assaulted, ridiculed, called names and told he wished I were dead. It was never ending. My children were spoiled rotten brats and I had made them that way. The horrible things that were spat at me those last few weeks I'll never forget. It comes in flashes as I try to calm down...
By Lindsey Altomabout a year ago in Psyche
2024 and Bisexual?
Sometimes in life, things happen that you can't go back from and these incidents change you. They form and shape you into a different person with different thoughts and different beliefs even. I'm a very open minded person and because of this I'm constantly growing and learning and changing. This year has been a weird one for me. My spirituality is changing and morphing. My belief system going from something strict and concrete to something more fluid and open to different concepts from around the world. I know after waking up to these beliefs that I won't go back. That things can only go forward from here. I also know that some people and some of my family won't like these revelations of mine. I know that I'm going to have to come to terms with this and be who I am regardless. I'm getting in touch with my inner light and learning that we all have Source inside us. The amount of things we are all capable of is astounding. You just have to open your mind to the fact that what you believe and what you put into the universe will be. If you believe you will be broke and miserable the rest of your life you will be. However, if you believe you are abundant and radiate abundance you will do just that. Expel the negativity and drama from your life and you will find life and the universe greeting you with love and kindness. I have also discovered this year that I am okay alone. I've embraced who I am in all aspects and even if I don't feel comfortable sharing that with everyone in my life just yet I'm ok with it. For instance a big revolution that I've just come to the conclusion of is I'm bisexual. Thinking back on it I always have been but I've suppressed these feelings because they were wrong, dirty and sinful according to the way I was raised. I remember though that ever since middle school I've had what I now realize were girl crushes and I would look at a girl and think she's hot. I thought boys were hot too but I do recall thinking about girls in a romantic way as well. So, now, here we are at almost forty years of age trying to learn how to admit this to not only myself but everyone else in my life. I've honestly had my feel of relationships with men. I've been through two failed marriages. My first husband was my highschool sweetheart and he never supported me financially or emotionally. My second husband ended in a toxic, abusive way with emotional, mental and verbal abuse on a daily basis. I've tried to date since then with men but I no longer feel that connection. All I see now is red flags and how deeply engrained with patriarchy they all are and it pisses me off. I've really come into my feminine side these past few months and it has empowered me to be more of a girl's girl then I already was. We are women, hear us roar. We will not back down, we will support each other and love each other because loving each other is often times better than loving a man who thinks he owns the world. The sad part is behind every good man is a woman who keeps him standing so I ask you who needs who?
By Lindsey Altomabout a year ago in Pride
Two Years Stronger...
Once upon a time, I lost my mind. I never truly came back from the edge of insanity and at this point, I do not want to. It has become a part of who I am. My insanity is what defines me. My ability to go to the edge of my mind, jump off the cliff, and then come back stronger and better to fight another day has made me the soldier that I am. There are plenty of soldiers who have been through worse but how we carry our battles and our trauma is different for every one of us. This past year has taught me so much about who I am as a person. This woman that I have become in some ways, is even a surprise to me. I am wild and hungry for what the world has to offer. The Universe is so much more than most realize and I am truly waking up to this fact. The doctrine I have been taught since childhood is not what I now claim. I was taught to live in a box and I have now broken out of my box and am asking questions. Forbidden questions, realizing my words have power, running from what I've been taught. Running so far that I know there is no coming back.
By Lindsey Altomabout a year ago in Motivation
