By Lauren Hudgins Bringing my Doc Martens was the worst decision I made while packing for Japan. In Japan it’s customary to take off your shoes when you enter somebody’s home, along with some other indoor spaces. I went to see a dermatologist and was required to remove my boots as I went into the building. The first thing I saw when I entered my new, tiny metal box of an apartment was a red paper sign on the floor,…
by Amy Barnes I once was lost, but now am found Was blind but now I see “Amazing Grace” I didn’t want to fail my mom again. Or fail the pastor. I pushed down harder on my eyelids. I had already failed at speaking in tongues. I needed to see the red healing light with my eyes closed. The hymn playing in the background was Amazing Grace. And yet, I couldn’t see. I couldn’t see red. Or light. Or a…
by Lauren Jonik Living in the northeastern US, Spring always feels especially welcome. The cold, snowy days of March transform into the rainy days of April. The hardness of the once frozen ground slowly gives way to softness. But, in order for the flowers to bloom, they must grow through mud, up, up, up towards the sun, towards where the light and warmth are. The metaphor is not lost on me: growth is sometimes hard, sometimes, messy, but as I…
by Gretchen Hanson I have always hated my birthday. Not just hated, loathed, with a deep visceral anathema that is far more complicated than sheer vanity. And before you even ask, no, it is not obscenely old and I don’t look too much off what you would probably guess if you were being kind. I don’t hail from an age where a lady never said how old she was, or only appeared in the paper three times in her life….
by Marissa Price Aussies are often a misunderstood breed. When we travel overseas, we seem to be a bit of a novelty with delighted locals often throwing out the “Can you just say ‘G’day mate’ for me?” The 24.13 million Australians who populate our beautiful country are just as complicated as people from all over the world with our own issues, worries and concerns. As a whole, we’re seen as a happy-go-lucky, quick-witted bunch who enjoy a beer at a…