humanity
For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.
Black Women Who Survive PTSD
As a little girl I grew up moving around a lot. I was the daughter of a single mother. Nothing was ever easy. Frankly, the day by day life was hard. Sometimes McDonald’s was the only thing for dinner. I remember thinking I would never get out of this situation. I would never experience life as a happy child. I cried myself to sleep most nights because I felt alone and afraid to speak my mind. After the few times I moved around it felt like I would never have a home. I wanted to grow up with friends and family. I craved for stability.
By Cara Simone Sparks 5 years ago in Humans
March 19, 2020
Mistakes I think I will always look back on this time and wonder if I made a mistake. Part of me will always be curious about what I would have done if I didn’t end up coming to DC with him. I think part of me will also always wonder if things could have ever worked out with Cameron. I will probably forever wonder if I could’ve ever truly made it in New York or if it would have taken a toll on my spirit and soul. I will probably also always wonder if I would have liked DC if I didn’t come during a pandemic. Would it have the same sparkle? Would I still be impressed?
By Sarah LaFleur5 years ago in Humans
Step Back; You Don’t Know Me Like That
“I like people too much or not at all.” Sylvia Plath I need a few things I’m shopping at a home improvement store. I’ve got a list of six items I need. My mask is on because I live in wild Florida. A home improvement store associate walks into my six-foot circle to ask me if I need help. I step back two steps; they step forward two steps. I wave my arms around my body in a windmill motion to illustrate that I need space. I tell her I’m looking for 116-inch blind slat replacements. Two of my slats broke. I’m trying to avoid replacing the entire sliding door blind. She checks; they don’t have them in that long length. “Thanks,” I answer, as I continue backing away. The associate follows me, telling me they could special order the replacements. “No,” I say and almost bump into a floor display, making my escape. She reaches to help me. I duck under her hands as I head into the outdoor furniture department.
By Toni Crowe5 years ago in Humans
Black Women Cry Too
The older I get the more I realize how hard it is to be a woman of color. Of course, I have had my share of problems as a little girl but sometimes there is already a fixed mentality and reality for black women. African American women are told as little girls to never cry and to be strong. Even if black women have a moment of weakness it is either depicted as anger or bitterness. I was always a women who took the punches of the black women around me. I became a bit of an empath because I cared about how my actions and words hindered the existence of the black women I knew. Instead I was bullied, belittled, and bad-mouthed as if I was the one with the problem.
By Cara Simone Sparks 5 years ago in Humans
Threading the Needle
I have lived a happy life. I grew up in the rural outskirts of a small city on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. I was surrounded by a loving family in a beautiful home that my father built with his own hands. Both of my parents are creators and instilled in me the confidence to make anything I want. Always an artist, I spent many an afternoon after school digging up clay from the yard to create small sculptures left to dry on the porch rail in the sun (much to my mother’s dismay). I have often felt guilty when friends or coworkers talk about their troubled childhoods or strained relationships with parents who don’t support their creative endeavors. Though my family didn’t have much money, I never doubted their love or support. Indeed, a sense of home, a safe place to retreat, has never been something I questioned. You see, my familial ties to Louisiana go back many generations. Southern roots run deep and the only thing that has pulled me away from the security of a loving family is my desire to travel and explore. I left my home in Lake Charles over ten years ago never imagining that anywhere else would feel as much like home or that there would come a time that it would not be there when I needed it.
By Rachel Rhoden5 years ago in Humans
A White Girl's Thoughts
This article will probably receive a lot of hate, but I need to write it. There is a fundamental reason why; racism. You see, I am an advocate of anti-racism and work hard every day to instil tolerance in my children. I find the fact that anyone has to teach tolerance abhorrent. It should be a natural state of being. In my mind, racism is a mental illness; a person of sound mind should not harbour it.
By J.B. Miller5 years ago in Humans
