Aloe Bud

So to me, one of the most important parts of self care is being alone. As a natural introvert, being surrounded by people all the time is draining. Every so often, I need time by myself to relax and recharge. However, that’s become slightly more difficult for me since I moved in with my significant…

When you’re disabled or have a chronic illness, self care is absolutely necessary. While self care regarding mental illness is often regarded as something you do when you have the time, caring for chronic pain is an all-consuming responsibility. There’s almost never a moment when I’m not tracking my symptoms, taking or thinking about taking medicine,…

I get guilt. I’m supersonically Catholic. I once cried after hitting an already dead possum on the highway. I’m a flesh-and-blood American woman who is painfully aware of her single, self-sufficient, totally-rad lifestyle she maintains (especially when compared to her parents’ struggles at her age). I get guilt. “Self care” is not all the rage where I come from,…

It’s been a long day. The longest of days, actually. Class, work, reading, studying, Netflix-ing. Relaxing, but never fully relaxing because I can never stop thinking of things I need to do. I feel like I will never have enough time for everything on my to-do list — there is always homework to be done,…

In a red, three-inch photo album that lives in a cabinet on the first floor of our house, there exists a picture of a little girl in a white nightgown fast asleep on her bed, a stuffed rabbit by her side and a red sippy cup on the nightstand. And she is surrounded by books.…

You probably knew a girl like me in grade school: a girl that mostly kept to herself, didn’t talk much and hardly ever raised her hand in class. You probably knew her as “shy” and “quiet” and “introverted,” adjectives that pair well with “bookish” and “nerdy” in an attempt to make it seem like you…

It was never a question that I would keep my maiden name. When asked, I’d tell people it was because of my career as a writer, where my byline is everything. My family and friends knew it was more than that, though. I was determined not to let marriage change my identity. But change it…

“Make yourself comfortable,” I was told, my lady business exposed to the cold winter air for anybody to see. As it my first time ever using a male gynecologist (my usual female OBGYN was booked up,) I was already primed to be anything but comfortable. Today’s particular appointment wasn’t the typical speculum-and-swab while making small…

I feel a mixture of jealousy and sadness when I think of her. She gets to be his girlfriend, while I am just the girl with a crush. I want what she has, but I know realistically that it won’t happen. I’m just an interloper in their love story. If this were a romantic comedy,…

Red lipstick has always been a signifier of confidence to me, but I never felt sophisticated enough to wear it. Red screams confidence and boldness. My mom wore mostly pink lipstick, and she encouraged me to do the same. “Pink looks good on you,” she would say. It didn’t feel like I was allowed to wear a…