From Whispers to Wisdom

She lay in my arms A cotton ball of promise    Delicate as love. 

There was one day, during my 3rd year of undergrad at Lehman College, that I will never forget. I woke up that morning with tremendous anxiety, and my stomach was quite unsettled throughout the day. There was so much homework due, and I felt completely drained. For weeks, I barely slept, and when I did, I had nightmares about failing and disappointing everyone I cared about.  That day, I was hanging up flyers for a Rainbow Alliance event in the empty classrooms inside Carman Hall. Suddenly, I just burst into tears. I had been struggling with constant depression and anxiety for months, and my grades were suffering, even in my English classes. It did not feel like I was anywhere near close to graduating. By that point, the pressures associated with school felt completely out of control. My friends constantly told me how strong they thought I was, but getting to the end of each day took so much emotional energy that I did not have. I took out my phone, and by instinct, called my mothe

The other day at work, my boss and I were interviewing a potential employee, and we asked him what kind of writing experience he had. He mentioned that in college, his professor presented him with an opportunity to be a “sensitivity editor.” My ears perked up, because I had never heard of that before.  He said that he was responsible for, “editing the content of a piece of writing based on what an audience might find offensive (racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic, etc). Figuring out what is objectively offensive/not publishable versus what may be subjectively offensive, and figuring out the difference between those two things based on the context of the writing.”  Basically, authors hire sensitivity editors to look over their work before it is published, to catch anything that might cause a reader to sue them. I remember thinking, as our interviewee was speaking, that I could totally be a sensitivity editor as my new side hustle! I consider myself an extremely empathetic person

This past weekend I was in Miami for my good friend Angie’s bachelorette getaway weekend. It was truly a magical experience! 13 femmes on one trip and there were nothing but good vibes! Also, the ladies in our group were ALL unbelievably attractive, so that was a huge bonus for me! I would love to say what happens in Miami stays in Miami, but I have FAR too many pictures and videos to hold up that promise… (Look out for my blog post about the male strip club experience! Coming soon. No pun intended, whatsoever!!!) I was so appreciative that Angie invited me on the trip with her bridal party. She and I have been friends since Acting 1 class in undergrad. It was about 7 years ago, when she was still a brace face and I still had a baby face. She’s always been someone I felt I could be open with and talk about my personal struggles with, and I truly value our friendship. Even with that being the case, I have to say, I was very surprised that I was invited. Honestly, it made me extremely