Weekends were filled with helping my dad around the house and maybe going to the movies or hanging out with friends one day a week...

Life as a child was one of exploration, advancement, and amazement. I remember movie nights when my older brother, parents, and I...

From an early age, I showed an interest in becoming a police officer, or rather, I became interested in adventure and excitement...

As we built our life together, I was excited to learn that I was pregnant in July of 1990. Dreams of whether I’d be buying blue or pink...

What makes a person unique? One just has to look up at the night sky. Just as each star differs from all the others, each of us...

As a little girl, I observed the life of my mother and vowed to be different. Better. More intentional. I promised myself that I would...

When I was three years old, I was diagnosed with a birth defect called phocomelia. Both my legs are defective, twisted and lifeless...

I grew up watching over my shoulder and trying to keep the peace in our home. Though I breathed the air of misfortune, it did not affect...

A life without its own identity is nothing but a shadow. It clings to another and hides from the sun...

Since I was a child, I’ve been an open book and eager to have new experiences. I wanted to “see the world,” and perhaps, find...

But on the inside, things became unfortunately dysfunctional as their marriage faded into nothing. I spent a lot of time wishing I...

That was, until my life took a nightmarish turn after I was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of seven...

The sun came out not long after I was born on a chilly morning in August of 1987 in the heart of Transylvania, Romania. In the black...

Every day, I walk the streets and select a place that is not far off from my walled city of Lahore, Pakistan. I put down a cloth to sit...

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

Emotions—my mother’s, specifically—ran our household. If Mom was upset, everyone’s emotional state shifted. My sisters and I walked on...

With tears in her eyes, she softly said, “I am glad you are here, Papito, and even if you’ll be in a wheelchair, I still want you to...

My parents fell in love in prison. Not many people can say that! Back then, detention centers were co-ed. My father...

It was as if this passion for film was already in my blood. I mean, come on. Kelsey Parris the Filmmaker. It had a good ring to it. Since...

I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1990, maturing in a stable suburban environment, my first memories made on the playground. Besides what...