Tag: acceptance

Daughter, I Failed You Today

Shelby Eckard

Daughter, I failed today. I’ve been a hypocrite. You may only be 3, but I work every day to teach you that your body is your own. Your body is more than the size it takes up or the shape it’s formed into. I want you to know your body Read more

Shelby Eckard

Shelby is a mother of two living in the burbs of Atlanta who works as a Fitness Nutrition and Weight Loss Specialist (NASM) and spends her free time trying to get over her break up with Carbs, (I miss you, Pizza Joe. Call me.) making it through the hours between coffee and wine, pretending to be cool on Instagram and Facebook, and fighting the good fight in her head between “ I wanna look good naked” and “ I eat cake in bed”. She blogs at www.survivingshelby.com and covers topics such as positive body image, PCOS, eating disorder recovery, and humor. She is really, just a woman trying to get her sh*t together.

Sister of My Soul

Jacqueline Cioffa

Excuse me, do I know you? I vaguely remember your face We were friends once, the very best friends We were tight, so very close Secrets were shared, tears cried, belly laughs burned and drunken nights felt never ending Even faded rock star blue jeans with holes in the knees Read more

Jacqueline Cioffa

A retired, international model, and celebrity makeup artist. Co-Author of Model Citi Zen, the guide. Founder of http://modelcitizenmakeup.blogspot.com/. Author of numerous prose pieces in various literary magazines. Most recently published in Little Episodes Brainstorms the anthology, among esteemed artists Sadie Frost, Melvin Burgess and Todd Swift.

Crunches and Compassion: Transgender Rights and the Cisgender Community

Sheila Moeschen

I began referring to him privately as “The Swede.” From in between my crunches on the exercise mat, I snuck glances at his pale, chiseled face. His square jaw and high, sculpted cheekbones stood out as if his face was sketched from the pages of a superhero DC comic. I Read more

Sheila Moeschen

My name is Sheila, I'm a Boston-based writer and regular contributor to the Huffington Post; I primarily write creative nonfiction. My work has appeared on MariaShriver.com, Niche Literary Journal, and Red Line Roots. In 2015 my blog, Spirit Meets Bone was awarded a WordPress Freshly Pressed designation and featured as part of their Discover New Writers gallery.

Transcendent Growth Exchange

Natalie Yeh

Five years ago, I arranged a meeting with twenty family members. I was to announce that I would begin to present to the world as a woman. As soon as everyone saw me in person and realized that I was really going to transition my gender and begin living as Read more

Natalie Yeh

Liminal Spaces with Natalie Yeh -- aerospace engineer with a penchant for the spiritual, artistic, and cerebral -- is an attempt where she tries to accept her own messy humanity in exploring the gifts in her everyday stories and milestones with compassion, gratitude, and mindfulness. Gifts she believes we can all share and learn from when we choose to see our continuous threads of connection in our common humanity rather than uphold paper walls of illusions of separation that some treat as real. When she has free time, she loves to cook, shoot landscape photography, practice martial arts, write and dance. Her Chinese American background, bilingual upbringing, and transgender history all lend to her experiences in exploring the liminal spaces where her history, her present and her future are at odds and of a piece, creating herself and her writing as unique, cross cultural art.

The Nature of Love and Understanding

Christine Watkins Davies

When my daughter, Eden, was in preschool, she had a playdate at our house with a fellow classmate. I vividly remember preparing a snack for them as they sat at a nearby table coloring and talking. At one point, Peyton looked at my daughter and asked her, “Eden, do you Read more

Christine Watkins Davies

Christine Watkins Davies is a writer, wife, mother, and integral life and executive coach. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her wife and daughter and a slew of pets. She is an advocate for gay rights and adoption, however, as a raging introvert, she prefers to write about such things instead of screaming at rallies.

Black Sheep

Stephanie Bennett-Henry

Call me the black sheep, the could be the wanted to be but never was. Name me the backdrop, the shadow, the breakthrough that never did. I was the nightlight that burned out, looking like a spotlight that failed. I tried to be the center but I got sidelined, where Read more

Stephanie Bennett-Henry

Stephanie Bennett-Henry is the creator of Raging Rhetoric, the hugely popular Facebook page, IG profile, and website. With a social media following in the hundreds of thousands, Stephanie is regarded as one of today's most highly respected poets. Her writing is raw, unfiltered, and unforgettable. Born and raised in Texas, Stephanie is a southern girl through and through, sharp as a blade and as sweet as candy. You can find Stephanie's exquisite words on her Facebook Writer page, website, IG, and Raging Rhetoric Column on The Lithium Chronicles. From somewhere in Texas, Stephanie is working on her first book of poetry. Look for her pieces in home decor and gift shops all over North America very soon.

Human Deck

Natalie Yeh

Our deck is the human deck we are dealt, and when we project fantasies and assumptions of transcendent perfection by comparing our lives to those of strangers we don’t even know, it can be dangerous. This culture assumes celebrities have the life we want, casting them into a perfect role Read more

Natalie Yeh

Liminal Spaces with Natalie Yeh -- aerospace engineer with a penchant for the spiritual, artistic, and cerebral -- is an attempt where she tries to accept her own messy humanity in exploring the gifts in her everyday stories and milestones with compassion, gratitude, and mindfulness. Gifts she believes we can all share and learn from when we choose to see our continuous threads of connection in our common humanity rather than uphold paper walls of illusions of separation that some treat as real. When she has free time, she loves to cook, shoot landscape photography, practice martial arts, write and dance. Her Chinese American background, bilingual upbringing, and transgender history all lend to her experiences in exploring the liminal spaces where her history, her present and her future are at odds and of a piece, creating herself and her writing as unique, cross cultural art.

House of Mirrors: A Personal Journey of Self

Jacqueline Cioffa

I’ve always had a specific need for my home to be clean and neat. I’ve always searched for a sense of order amongst my things. I’ve come to realize I find order only through the mess of things. Calm and certainty come to me during great periods of strife and Read more

Jacqueline Cioffa

A retired, international model, and celebrity makeup artist. Co-Author of Model Citi Zen, the guide. Founder of http://modelcitizenmakeup.blogspot.com/. Author of numerous prose pieces in various literary magazines. Most recently published in Little Episodes Brainstorms the anthology, among esteemed artists Sadie Frost, Melvin Burgess and Todd Swift.