Or Are They Just Pretty? — Crystals are not just ordinary stones. Sure, they are aesthetically pleasing, but many people have also long claimed that crystals have metaphysical properties (meaning beyond material or physical). Crystals are a billion dollar industry. …

Happiness comes when you let go. — Stories telling you how to (do anything and everything) are easily some of the most popular and sought after stories on Medium. Nearly all of the top stories on the site seem to be some sort of guide for life. How to…you name it, it exists. Frankly, it stresses me…

Success is not as scary as it seems — I have had a fear of success for as long as I can remember. Compliments often feel foreign or straight-up uncomfortable to me. I am an extremely hard worker, and this has been noticed multiple times, despite my attempt to keep my head down and do my job. …

Why it was worth the pain — Did you know that females have worse side effects from vaccines than men? I did not know that until yesterday, and I found out the hard way. I did not expect to feel as awful as I felt after the second COVID-19 vaccine. After the first Moderna shot, I felt…

Codependency? No thanks. — If you’ve seen Game of Thrones, you know how fierce Arya Stark is. “That’s not me,” she said to her father when she was a young child, referring to how she was not meant to be a proper lady, which everyone expected her to be. Arya knew from a young…

Traveling can be both fun and eye-opening — My mom stayed with a family in Mexico City for a summer during college in the 70s. The memories and lessons she took away from her time there stayed with her for the rest of her life. My siblings and I saw evidence of it daily from the Spanish words…

Life is a rollercoaster to ride and enjoy — Much of the fun of riding a rollercoaster comes from the uncertainty of not knowing what is going to happen next. …

Interstellar DreamFest was a dream come true — “Are you rolling?” a stranger yelled from across the parking lot. “Yep!” I yelled back. However, I was not rolling (which is slang for being high on MDMA aka ecstasy). I had never done any drug besides marijuana, and I did not plan to. I had no issue with people…

Do one thing every day that scares you, even if it is writing — Tonight I wrote what very well could have been the first story I have written as an adult during a call with a weekly writer’s workshop. I am sure I have written short stories in my past, likely during childhood, but I cannot remember the last time I wrote one…