Fight Like a Mother
| This is the 470th story of Our Life Logs | I was born in 1962 amid the sprawling streets of Annapolis, Maryland, and lived on its outskirts for the first 12 years of my life. Then we moved for a couple of different reasons. First of all, in that time, race was a pretty big issue, with African Americans having spent the past decade fighting for … Continue reading Fight Like a Mother
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A Refugee No More
| This is the 469th story of Our Life Logs | I was born in free India in 1979 on the outskirts of Srinagar in Kashmir. My father was a Kashmiri Pandit, a Hindu in a Muslim-dominated area. But in those days, it was no real threat other than the normal distrust between the two communities, which was prevalent all over India. Father used to work as … Continue reading A Refugee No More
An Invisible War
| This is the 468th story of Our Life Logs | You never think it’s going to be you until it is. And then it is. Okay, so, let’s back up from that unnerving fortune cookie. I was born and raised in Minnesota in 1994, the youngest of three. Since I was the youngest child in the family, following my two amazingly gifted brothers, I took it … Continue reading An Invisible War
When the Truth Came to Be
| This is the 467th story of Our Life Logs | To almost every girl in this world, her father is a role model, a star she looks up to. She thinks of him as her savior, her guide, a protector, and most importantly, the source of help and support on which she can rely on in the toughest of times. But God changed up a few … Continue reading When the Truth Came to Be
Facing Down Demons
| This is the 466th story of Our Life Logs | I was born in 1993 in the urban jungle of Baltimore, Maryland, where my family was originally from. We lived there until I was about three when we moved to a quaint, little town called Saltville in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. We stayed there for another three years before finally coming to rest about 15 … Continue reading Facing Down Demons
Fearfully and Wonderfully
| This is the 465th story of Our Life Logs | South Carolina, my home state, is known for many things—sweet tea, unmistakable accents, Charleston. But it is also known for being smack in the middle of the Bible Belt, where children say “yes, ma’am,” and “no, sir,” and in most stereotypes, these children get shooed outside to play with a mess of siblings and cousins, because … Continue reading Fearfully and Wonderfully
To Capture the Light Again
| This is the 464th story of Our Life Logs | My mom gave birth to me in the city of Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria, in July 1985—but I should say, I come from a polygamous background. My dad had two wives; the first wife had three sons and four daughters, and my mom, the second wife, had my younger sister and me. My dad made good … Continue reading To Capture the Light Again
Stronger Than the Tiger
| This is the 463rd story of Our Life Logs | I grew up in a small village in the heart of Sunderbans inside the reserved forest in India. I was born around 20 years ago as the middle child. Besides my parents and two sisters, Puja and Rinki, my grandmother also lived with us. Our village was surrounded by the forest on all sides, but those … Continue reading Stronger Than the Tiger
What We Choose
| This is the 462nd story of Our Life Logs | I was born to a Muslim family as a middle child, squashed between my three brothers. My family lived in a small, underdeveloped town named Hasilpur in Punjab, Pakistan, which lies between the Sutlej River and the border with its neighboring country, India. Here, my father owned a business while my mother was a housewife. Despite … Continue reading What We Choose
To Return to Myself
| This is the 461st story of Our Life Logs | As a little girl born in 2001, I didn’t grow up knowing anything but my family’s small farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the two horses we had and the beef cattle. I can still remember how it felt like to wake up to animal noises, to play in the creek, my feet all muddy and wet. I … Continue reading To Return to Myself
The Anatomy of a Warrior
| This is the 460th story of Our Life Logs | Warriors carry an extra appendage while preparing for combat. They choose what will heighten their power when they meet adversity. They master the appendage. They set out to conquer. For me, that extra appendage is, was, and will always be my power wheelchair. My wheels are a chariot to freedom rather than a temporary crutch to … Continue reading The Anatomy of a Warrior
Life Is Never Promised
| This is the 459th story of Our Life Logs | Life can be tricky; it’s like teetering along the edge of a cliff. One setback can land you on the streets. But I didn’t know that at first. I was born to an average Hindu family in Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat, India, in 1993. Like many other Indian Hindu families, we were rooted in … Continue reading Life Is Never Promised