Photo by Victoriano Izquierdo on Unsplash trigger warning: themes of sexual violence I love the celebration of Purim -- a time for feasting, dressing up, and being inspired by the brave heroes in the story of Esther. We shout as loud as we can to drown out the voice of the enemy's name. We cheer when we hear the names of the ones who were courageous enough to risk everything...

i have been trying to be "strong" for a very long time. years ago, when i was too young to know what the price would be, i made the first decision to harden my heart. growing up in an unsafe home, it was too painful to be soft and too humiliating to be vulnerable. the only way i could exercise any control over what i was going through, was to go numb. if i didn't want to hurt,...

i hope you're reading this in comfort, because i am here to write, which at the moment is a very uncomfortable thing. my knuckles are protesting, rusted over like the tin man who sat in the woods for who knows how long before someone came along and oiled him up. oh, how nice it must have felt to move freely in his own body again. maybe it took awhile to get used to being himself...