It was a tough reality to come to terms with: now I had an opioid addiction ​and ​a global pandemic on top of that to worry about. I was

The first 15 years of my life was bliss. I was born in the city of Abeokuta, Nigeria, in 2000, as an only child to my parents...

Growing up I watched my mom and sister struggle from their symptoms and try medication after medication to achieve some relief...

I often felt fearful as a young girl. My parents struggled to provide for us, causing an air of tension in our home. But if I wanted...

It was odd to me how my mother married a man who didn’t seem to understand either one of us. Our passion, empathy, and sensitivity...

My mother is a housewife and my father owns a grocery store. When I hear my parents talk about money, it does not seem stressful, so I...

Most living things remain what they were at birth, however, a butterfly was once a caterpillar, and at the risk of waxing poetic, I...

While watching my mother work so hard, I wanted a better bargain at life, a new city and with new destiny. Nothing—I had decided—would...

My childhood was a long-term nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from. My father was very violent and abusive, so I never had a chance...

But things wouldn’t always be so perfect. The world is full of sick, twisted people, and not before long, I became the target...

Most of my fond memories were spending time with my parents and two younger siblings: putting up the Christmas tree together; enjoying...

As a child, it seemed like the world around me inspired the power of creativity flowing into my hungry, curious mind. Filled with...

I had a very cheerful childhood—at least until I turned four. That was when my parents got divorced. Studies say that people often don’t...

I was born in Bryan, Ohio in September of 1993, arriving a year after the death of my older brother, who had been born with heart defects...

My mom worked tirelessly to make money with multiple jobs while my dad refused to work more than one job. To make matters worse, my dad...

At 43, I’ve lost a lot in my life. I’ve lost homes, family members, and jobs. Though I lose things, I fight to gain back what’s possible...

My father was never in the picture. He left my mother long before I could even remember. My mother had only an eighth-grade education and...

People look at me and think they see a girl that has it all together. I rent a condo on my own, I have a loving boyfriend, and...

I peeked inside to see my father destroying everything in his path. He was on one of his drunken rampages again. My mother was trying...

I’ve experienced many cracks in the road of my life, but I continue driving. Some of the cracks turned out to be deep potholes that...