I run out of the house at full speed, screen door slamming behind me. I am off to the races, meeting some neighborhood buddies to play some pick-up basketball. After a game of two-on-two with my sister and a couple of brothers who live three doors down from us, we go bike-riding…girls on the back…

When we are young we are an open field, running, jumping, frolicking even. Laughing and trusting, bouncing and gliding. After that first heartbreak, whether a parent or a love or even a friend, those first bricks are laid, building a barrier between self and pain. A tentative laugh and yet still a willingness to go…

Once I was a young girl Dreaming of my future It looked a lot like the lives of my parents Teacher, four kids, a loud and chaotic house. Love and promise, nothing gray and ugly. I transformed into a woman Somewhat confused My reality looking nothing like what I was promised in my head. Not…