One Day
| This is the 525th story of Our Life Logs | I have hope that one day, my dreams will come true. But until then, I will continue to dream. Let’s start at the beginning. I was born in the slums of Lahore in the 1980s. My father could hardly provide three meals a day for my elderly mother, three sisters, and me. He was very old, diabetic, and often sick, but in his … Continue reading One Day
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How Far I’ve Come
| This is the 519th story of Our Life Logs | I released my hands as I realized I had been squeezing them tight around the barber’s chair. The best I could do to occupy my mind was count the black and white tile floors of the shop. There was no turning back now. This was no ordinary haircut. While the other patrons of the barber shop entertained themselves … Continue reading How Far I’ve Come
A Wandering Jew
| This is the 518th story of Our Life Logs | “But why?” This became the epitome of my childhood and the main source of migraines for my parents. My innate curiosity for the world around me led me to question everything I was told and ponder everything I saw. I knew there was something more, that something was missing. I didn’t want to just accept … Continue reading A Wandering Jew
Who I Am at the End of the Journey
| This is the 517th story of Our Life Logs | My mother had what some would call a “dirty” pregnancy, meaning my parents weren’t together and my father wasn’t in the picture when I was born in 2002 in San Diego, California. My family doesn’t talk much about it due to the stigma, but I’ve gathered the gist of what happened. My mother, along with … Continue reading Who I Am at the End of the Journey
A Matter of Life and Death and Limb
| This is the 516th story of Our Life Logs | I’m an athlete through and through, model year 1983. Football player, college scholarship, pro ball—the works. I was someone always in motion—locomoting with agility, speed, and power of leg was my life force. But what happens when that motion is tested? I grew up in California where I played every sport that had a ball. … Continue reading A Matter of Life and Death and Limb
On My Own: A COVID-19 Story
| This is the 515th story of Our Life Logs | Thursday, March 12, 2020. I worked hard to stop the well of tears about to gush out of me. I bit my lip to choke down the sob threatening to escape from my throat. I told myself I had to hold it together for 20 more minutes, just until my boyfriend Charles left the apartment. Then I … Continue reading On My Own: A COVID-19 Story
To Fight with Every Step
| This is the 514th story of Our Life Logs | I grew up in the late ’90s with the life that most people would dream about as a kid. My house was a few blocks from the best beaches California had to offer. The temperature was never lower than 55 (degrees Fahrenheit) and never higher than 85. I would spend my time riding my bike, … Continue reading To Fight with Every Step
Under the Dazzling Stage Lights
| This is the 513th story of Our Life Logs | Before I begin, let me tell you a few things about me. My name is Sushma. I’m a gender queer actor who loves to sing, dance, and shatter stereotypes. I’m just me, living a life that I carved out for myself. But things weren’t always so easy and rosy. In the 1990s, my parents immigrated … Continue reading Under the Dazzling Stage Lights
Walls Break Down, the Sun Comes In
| This is the 512th story of Our Life Logs | “I love you,” he says as I look into the honey pots he calls eyes. I can’t control the smile stretching across my face; for the first time in my life, I’m genuinely in love with someone. In this moment, I find myself looking back on a road that almost broke me and amazed that … Continue reading Walls Break Down, the Sun Comes In
While the Music Continues
| This is the 511th story of Our Life Logs | Well, let me start my story with a parable: “There once was a very small girl whose mother asked her to fill up a barren valley with water. Each day, the small girl carried her small bucket from the creek near their home to the valley. Nothing seemed to happen at first. There was … Continue reading While the Music Continues
Trapped in Gray Skies: A COVID-19 Story
| This is the 510th story of Our Life Logs | Life is unpredictable. People understand that now more than ever. But we also know that every situation occurs for a reason, and nothing is permanent. All experiences change and impact how you grow. And that is what happened to me. I come from a small city in Pakistan called Sahiwal. I was born in the late ’90s as the youngest and the only boy of five … Continue reading Trapped in Gray Skies: A COVID-19 Story
I Will Miss You Forever
| This is the 509th story of Our Life Logs | I came into the world on December 26, 1987. My parents waited anxiously for my birth as I was their first child. They loved me like no other and dotted over me, but our poverty compromised our household. Sadly, my parents couldn’t afford to keep me with them in the city, so they sent me … Continue reading I Will Miss You Forever