Proud to be an American I grew up thinking that I lived in the ‘land of the free and the home of the brave.’ My great country, the United States of America, had symbols and icons that proved this theory. As a country we have done a stellar job in instilling national pride through symbolism …
Social Justice
The Politics of Freedom and What it Means to You
One important aspect of self-care lies in our responsibility to continue to develop our intellect beyond the four walls of the classroom. Wheels of Freedom I remember my first bicycle—a shiny green Huffy with a saddle seat and coaster brakes. The back wheel had a set of smaller training wheels attached. I eventually learned to …
Why YOU Should Fight the Ocean of Hate
My Ocean of Regret I saw the news in an email from my husband whilst standing in a Starbucks in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. But I couldn’t cry then. My traveling companion had just turned to me to ask a question, and I didn’t want to burst into tears in front of her. The ocean …
Share Your Secret and Save Someone’s Life
Keeping Family Problems a Secret Three years ago, when our youngest daughter agreed to co-write a series with me on her mental health journey, I felt trepidation. Would telling our family secret—that we suffered from a mental illness—change people’s opinions about us? Sure, blog readers and close family friends already know that our family had …
Do We Adapt to Injustice From Lack of Awareness?
May We Never Adapt to Injustice The name Trayvon Martin brings an instant image of a young man looking out from the hood of his sweatshirt with soulful eyes. We know the facts—a young black man walks through an ethnically diverse neighborhood when a vigilante half-Hispanic man shoots and kills him during an ‘altercation.’ Twenty …
