The Promise to Myself
| This is the 186th story of Our Life Logs | When people look at me, they see a happy woman, slow to take and quick to give. What they don’t know is the harsh truth under this smile. I was born on June 27, 1969 in Chicago, Illinois and lived with two loving parents and an older brother. I stayed there up until the age … Continue reading The Promise to Myself
In My Wildest Dreams
| This is the 186th story of Our Life Logs | I was born in Washington, D.C. in 1991, and lived in the surrounding counties throughout my childhood. In 1999, my parents faced some financial struggles, so Grammy and Grandpa opened the door to us. It was just like the weekends we sometimes spent with them…only longer! As an eight-year-old, I adored living with my grandparents, … Continue reading In My Wildest Dreams
Tumbling into Joy
| This is the 184th story of Our Life Logs | Growing up in Chicago is tough—that goes for any kid. However, growing up in my home in Chicago with my mom and stepdad was even tougher. I was born on August 18, 1988 to a timid mother and a drug-addicted father. My father was in the picture for the first six months of my … Continue reading Tumbling into Joy
Life as We Know It
| This is the 183rd story of Our Life Logs | My mother used to say that struggle is a person’s middle name. People are always struggling, if not physically then for sure mentally. I never took her seriously until I became an adult and experienced it for myself. I was born in Bahawalnagar, a small village near Bahawalpur city in Punjab, Pakistan in 1977. My … Continue reading Life as We Know It
Running Deeper Than Friends
| This is the 182nd story of Our Life Logs | I pried my eyes away from the TV screen to look out the window, to the trees, to the sunlight…to that strange world out there that gave me such discomfort. Noting the optimism of the sunlight and recoiling from it, I returned once again to the drab space where sat my TV and continued playing … Continue reading Running Deeper Than Friends
Tackling Happiness
| This is the 181st story of Our Life Logs | I was born in 1986 in Rome to a family of mixed culture, my mother was German-Dutch and my father, Italian. As a boy, I was enamored by my father’s sharp business suits and his title of a lawyer. While I looked up to him, I did so at a distance. He was always busy, … Continue reading Tackling Happiness
A Phoenix Rising
| This is the 180th story of Our Life Logs | I was born in New Orleans in 1951—an unplanned pregnancy leading to an unwanted child. For as long as I can remember my mom told me my birth caused her to lose her figure, which would be followed by her going to get a drink to get over it. As I got older, she … Continue reading A Phoenix Rising
Finding the Beauty in Life
| This is the 179th story of Our Life Logs | I’ve always been full of positivity and a little bit of sass. I guess I just love making people laugh. As a kid, I was known for being kind of spunky and was even chosen as a child model to promote a magazine called “Spark.” I haven’t changed much over the years. I’m still … Continue reading Finding the Beauty in Life
Through the Darkness
| This is the 178th story of Our Life Logs | The car was gone, and all our things were destroyed. I stood in front of our rented house and panicked wondering what to do. We didn’t have any insurance. All that we had was gone, swallowed up by the flood. Up until that moment, I thought I could handle any hardship. But this one threw … Continue reading Through the Darkness
Art Saved My Life
| This is the 177th story of Our Life Logs | What I know for sure is that every soul on this earth needs an escape, an outlet, a safe harbor in which to lose themselves and, ideally, to find themselves again. I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1959. As a child, I moved frequently and every time I made a friend, we would move … Continue reading Art Saved My Life
A Peddler’s Dream
| This is the 176th story of Our Life Logs | I was born in 1969, in a small village in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. As a little boy, I would help my father sell fresh cookies in the streets of our city, Lahore. We woke up early on many mornings, and together, we walked the heavy loads of sweets to the markets. On these … Continue reading A Peddler’s Dream
Survival of the Innocent
| This is the 175th story of Our Life Logs | I was born in 1976, in Pretoria, South Africa, the oldest of four kids—me, my twin brothers, and my sister. My mom and dad were happily married, and we were a regular, middle-class military family. But things wouldn’t always be so perfect. The world is full of sick, twisted people, and not before long, I … Continue reading Survival of the Innocent
