I had dreams, plans, and a strong will to achieve. When that all went out of the window, I was not left with despair. Instead, I was left...

My birth parents, Katie and Taylor, were only 17 at the time, so, after staying with me for two nights, Taylor carried me from the...

Growing up, my parents encouraged me to pursue all the dreams I could think of. I remember my dad’s words that have always stayed...

Nothing is as exhilarating as feeling the wind against your face on a speeding motorbike. It’s a power only the rider controls. I thought...

And while both were “uneducated” (in the sense that my father dropped out after 8th grade, and my mother had never been to school a day...

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...

For years after I came out, I identified as a lesbian, but over time I came to realize that I was bisexual. The time I spent with men...

It’s a late night under an inky sky as I walk across campus from the theatre back to my apartment. The chilly night air rustles past me...

I learned what it meant to survive at a young age. I waited patiently for my father to escape death, and from then on, I was determined...

We were a short 10-minute drive away from the bustling capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Our backyard opened to lush green jungle that...

Life has a funny way of teaching us lessons, right? For me, it seems like every time I say, “I won’t do this” or “I won’t become that...

As the last born in a family of six siblings, I don’t remember much of my childhood until the death of my father in 1997. When my mother...

I was much more scared than I was thrilled when we got the call to come to Jewish hospital where someone was dying of chronic heart...

As my family sat, distraught, a priest entered the room to give my last rites. My blue, lifeless body laid across the table. I wasn’t...

I’m a native New Yorker of the Upper East Side, born in January of 1956. My parents gave me a lot of freedom, and I took advantage...

Life was normal in my early youth. It wasn’t until I was 12 years old when things began to change...

My father worked three jobs at one point, so my mother could stay home with my big sister, little brother, and me. Though my sister is...

The doctors rushed to her aid in a frenzy, not only because she had suffered domestic abuse, but also because she was pregnant with me...

I had a normal, Catholic upbringing. My mother’s family was Irish, and my father’s family was Italian, creating a melting pot of heritage...

I was born with a birth defect that made one of my legs much shorter than the other. When people hear about this, they assume that I’m...