For anything new to begin, something must first end. — Coldness reflected off the gray paint in the bedroom. An empty room, except for a lonely bed. An empty bed occupied by myself and my thoughts. Wrapped in white bedding, I hid my head from the void around me. I didn’t want to look. I didn’t want to accept. …

I needed it to be different. — “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked. I nodded swiftly, a reflex before my brain could catch up. If I let myself think, If I let myself sift through memories, my entire body might shut down. My bare chest pressed against her exposed skin. She lay there…

There’s more, but here’s four to start. — The United States is the greatest country in the world. It’s a line just about everyone who attended schools within the U.S. was fed over and over again. I was one of them. …

Not everything is great about the writing community. — The isolation of writing can distance oneself from the world. Solitarily exploring the inner tunnels of the mind as it twists into the soul can prove both terrifying and exhilarating. Especially without a safety line. The writing community can offer this safety line. A group of people there to pull…

A failed marriage doesn’t end one relationship. It ends many. — There’s a death in the pit of your heart. Buried. Deep under the surface. Below the cracked and ruptured exterior. Below the visible. Below the invisible. It burrows down, waiting. Waiting for the seismic wave shaking the foundation of your life to subside. For the pain of your divorce to…

There is an end to every beginning. — Walking out the courthouse marked a new beginning. It marked a final end. It marked future paths twisting off in infinite directions. Like a novelty sign pointing off to a dozen far-off cities and just how distant each hides in the horizon. Divorce came so suddenly, and yet I had…

Some lessons are more important than calculus. — The public education system does a lot of things right. Growing up, I attended the public school system in a Midwest college town. A vibrant, culturally diverse community, it exposed me to as many new and different ideas as the brick-and-mortar high school I went to. With teachers hailing from…

I rented out three units for 7 months. Big Mistake. — A number of challenges are tethered to moving abroad, clanking around like tin cans tied to the bumper of a freshly married couple. While research and planning can mitigate some, other challenges await with arms wide, waiting to embrace long-term travelers upon arrival. Finding an apartment may serve as one…

Old memories can be around any turn. Sliding doors part, breaking the barrier between comfort and the world. I step outside, a chilled morning air scarfs around my neck. Skyscrapers leave me in a lavender shadow as they stretch upward, like great fingers reaching for sunlight. …