Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Viva.

As I wait.
The women who inspired me and left an indelible mark in my life -a catalyst to say is Billie. I am a strong independent women. Fierce as I have had to stand by myself and pull my own self up by the bootstraps. As an athlete, dancer and yogi and a upcoming actress I have to face all sorts of set backs and onstacles ontop of rejection, pain and suffering. Being married and now divorced I have lots of time to think about my self. As a women, as an independent human looking and longing for love in with another human being. My thoughts and memories drift back to Billie. She is a preachers wife. Devoted, beautiful and firecely strong. She knows all the emotions I have and continue to come in contact with. Loss, loneliness, rejection, fear , abandonment, love and loss. One thing she cannot relate to is divorce. She is happily married. She is the picture of love. She is the framework around marriage and commitment. She is submissive. She prefers to be as is her womenly stance but not because she has to be. I use to balk at this. This submissive quality and say no. Hell no. Not me. Yet looking back and seeing this life she has created because I believe we create out reality and therefore our legacy. Billie is the epitome of it. She let it be known she is a strong women yet in that strength she was humbly submissive to her husband. She knew what it was to walk away with genuine love for her partner even in the midst of a heated arguement. She understood timing and responding and not reacting and hunting down another human to finish something that in the end would not have the desired outcome she truly wanted. Billie was a women of great stamina. She would challenge me to think about timing and how critical it was to have a conversation at just the right time. This decision to wait to just the right time has been invaluable to my life. I had 2 years to see how this played out in Billies life and how to pratically apply it to my own. It is a legacy of timing. The art of waiting, the divine ability to hold back until just the right time. Not to soon and yet not to late. Right on time. So many of lifes issues would be settled and have the desired outcome if we humans would understand and be humble enough to submit ourselves to submissiveness. To submit our thoughts, our words and our actions to wait. To not give in and often times lose out. Her marriage, her relationships her life is so plentiful, so blessed so happy because she submitted. She held back and only in perfect timing went forward at the exact moment to execute her plan. It worked. This may not be a big thing in life in your experience but if you look back and evaluate maybe you would be a one step ahead, one move ahead of an opponent and one leap from a life you could only imagine if you learn to watch, to plan, to execute in such a way that you could have everything you ever wanted. Billie taught me a life long lesson. She taught me something that I can apply in every area of my life. The art of timing. The art of not being humble and the art of submissive in accordance with divine timing. Learn this and learn the key to a fullfiing and absolutely joyous life and a legacy that inspires many people after you. If it boded well for Billie. Who is an example of the verse from Solomon “there is a time for everything...” learn this. A time for everything under the sun.
By Heidi6 years ago in Viva
The women who inspired me
When I got the email about the "women who inspire" challenge I wasn't planing on entering because I had a hard time thinking of someone who inspired me. Then I realized that there were so many women who inspired me or taught me an amazing life lesson or 4. So let's look at who these women are.
By Lena Bailey6 years ago in Viva
The Cycle of Hate Towards Women
We all have heard or used the phrase “I am not like the other girls.” As we grow, the sentence started to bother some of us, raising questions as to why it is used, and why it exists in the first place. We can pick the easy route and say it is caused by deeply internalized misogyny that we especially see in younger women. While it can be a reason to belittle an entire gender, it is not enough to satisfy the question.
By Ipek Bengisu Kumas6 years ago in Viva
Birth Control
I first started taking birth control because my periods were so heavy and long. I started with the pill, I think it worked for awhile but I always forgot to take my pill so it just wasn't the right one for me.
By Brianna McCormick6 years ago in Viva
Three Wondrous Women and one Follower
There have been three important, courageous, and inspiring women in my life, my mom, my high school teacher, and my daughter.
By Martina R. Gallegos6 years ago in Viva
RAINN harsher punishments and changing the stigma
*** Warning this article deals talks about sexual assault, trauma, and rape. It also talks about my experience and the experience of those of who I have talked to, it in no way is meant to represent everyone.
By Sarah Beattie6 years ago in Viva
Resilience and why women are so great at it
At some point in our lives we have all been faced with tricky situations that require a hard decision or choice to be made. You have to act fast otherwise you risk the chance that everything could fall apart. This is where we have to use our whole being or as much of it as we can to get through it and our resilience is a key component to the makeup of our being.
By George Fairclough6 years ago in Viva
The Women Forgotten
In February, around Valentine’s Day, my friends and I planned a girl’s night out. We all parked our cars along the road and carried our bags into our friend’s house to all get ready together because, for us, getting ready together is half of the fun. It was a whirlwind of glitter, wine bottles, cigarettes, mascara wands out of their tubes, eye shadow sprinkled onto the table like some kind of party drug. Clothes were flying everywhere and music was playing and there were a lot of laughs and hugs. That’s what I think of when I think of the women in my life. A beautiful whirlwind.
By Chelsea Swiggett6 years ago in Viva
10 Lessons I learned from Barbie
Barbie was a huge part of my childhood. I watched every movie, sang-along every song and played with my Barbie dolls in excitement. I used to wait in anticipation for the release of upcoming movies and would rush to buy CD's as soon as I got a chance to go to my local mall and requested Barbie dolls to pamper and play with for my birthdays and for Christmas. Looking back at my childhood and the list of movies that I have watched, I realized that there were a lot of life lessons instilled in those films and most of them were similar values across the movies. They are:
By Alicia Patrick6 years ago in Viva
How One Woman Created A Local Global Movement
When Albania Rosario arrived to the United States from the Dominican Republic at age 18, she came alone. She did not speak a word of English. Not one word. But sometimes, vision speaks louder than words. Sometimes not even a basic lingusitic understanding is needed to achieve greatness. Albania is a perfect example.
By Albania Rosario6 years ago in Viva
Practical Ways to Practice Self-Care
Hello Powerful Women, How are you doing? Taking care of yourself? With everything currently going on in the world, it is easy to spiral out of control. While it may seem impossible to fit self-love and care into a busy schedule, it is vital to implement self-care techniques into your daily routine.
By Side Hustle Bible6 years ago in Viva
A Survivor's Timeline of Sexual Assault
There are defining moments in our lives that forever create a definitive split in our personal timelines. Once these moments occur, there will always be a "before" and an "after," a harsh contrast that will always be a reference point for future reflection.
By Sarah Welton6 years ago in Viva