“Good grades lead to scholarships for higher education. A meaningful degree leads to well-paying jobs with opportunities to advance.” This message is drummed incessantly by Grandfather. His children picked up the refrain and beat it into their children (i.e., my generation). We continued the tradition. After their mother’s passing, grandfather demanded all his children finish ...

I hate football. The fans lose their minds and endure crowded stadiums to watch their teams run back and forth on a field. My first experience with the sport was in the high school marching band. Being forced to perform at halftime shows for my small town was not what I enjoyed doing on a ...

It took only a few hours to obliterate the country. Then the skies cleared, and we crawled out of our houses on shaky limbs, fearful of what awaited us. The year was 2004, and our tiny island had been safe from catastrophe for over fifty years. One of the most destructive storms to cross the ...

Once again, the eight-year-old me is standing under the mantle staring up at that serious, soft-eyed person in the picture. Sometimes, when passing through this room, I glance up and smile. Other times, I fear he is watching me as if he is judging. When no one is around, I return his gaze and try ...

I have over fifty books on my bookshelf in my office and most of them are writing resources. I like to refresh on certain things–like grammar rules, plot structure, and character traits–to boost my craft. My favorite book I enjoy referring to is Stephen King’s On Writing. Stephen King has been one of my biggest inspirations. Whether ...

December ushers in the holidays and the new year. Now that I am older, I find that December gets here sooner every year and flits by even faster. The worry about having enough money to buy everyone a gift begins to set in the first week of December. I go through the motions of putting ...