My son is almost twelve, And he can pick up a textbook To plot his course and destiny. For a model, he had Malala Yousafzai, Who taught him the value  Of education and resistance.  His life will be so easy Compared to children Living near Azadi Square, Growing up with fire raining  From the drones’ constant roar; Children—generations—in the Niger Delta, Who live and die without ...

Her father’s attention part of love’s spell, A small girl pulsed with inspiration’s burst. “Listen, Dad, I’ve got a story to tell!” And began her tale through lips tautly pursed. “Man rode his donkey through deserts so cursed. They plodded along through barren nescience. ‘Water, water,’ begged the poor donkey’s thirst. The rider could spy ...

Parental alienation is where one parent keeps a child/children from the other parent. It is usually a game of control and has everything to do with hurting the non-custodial parent and the child/children. Parental alienation is a type of abuse used to disconnect the child/children from the “other” parent. It is extremely harmful to a ...

What if someone is struggling with a problem, mental illness, or physical limitations, and you decide to terminate the relationship? Does this make you a “bad” person? What if this person is toxic? Do you stay because they still need help? At what point do you say enough is enough? I am a huge believer ...

The hardest thing to hear from other moms when they find out I don’t have kids is “Oh, be so glad you don’t have them yet” or “You are so lucky.” I’m then told why I’m so lucky, and to “seriously, be thankful” I haven’t doomed myself to motherhood yet. I always smile and nod ...

I am a writer. I make lists for everything: grocery trips, summer plans, story-planning, things I want to try. My bucket list, the things I want to do one day before I die, is the longest list I keep. I’ll bet that is true for most normal people. However, I have another list I keep. ...

Birthdays Are Becoming Just Another Day Two weeks ago, I turned 24-years-old. On the days approaching my birthday, I was ecstatic. “Hell yeah, I’m going to be 24!” I thought of past birthdays and reminisced on the past year of being 23. I even woke up that morning to “On This Day” notifications from Facebook, ...