Inspiration
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Unapologetically Authentic
My husband and I danced in our kitchen. What began as a story about how one of my songs interrupted his Spotify playlist turned to me telling Alexa to play the song, and then the two of us swaying to the beat. It was one of those moments that capture joy and settle in for a lifetime, like the first time we met or the first time his hand brushed against mine. Being at home this past year has taught me the magic of such moments. Whether it’s spending time with my horse, gardening on a beautiful day, conquering a tough ride on Peloton, or reading to kids on Zoom,…
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Choices
Eighteen years ago, one moment changed my life. I answered the phone at two am. and heard the words, “We’re worried about Arielle.” I thought my daughter was dying. It was the scariest moment of my life! Arielle is doing very well now; at the time, she was ten years old and had been in a car accident in Orlando. I was in Mexico. One choice to travel abroad without my children changed all of our lives. I learned to never take a moment of life for granted, and I also learned the importance of my choices. Those two lessons have been with me daily through this pandemic. When I…
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The Woman In The Shadows
When I was in elementary school, she told me I was fat. When I was in middle school, she told me I wasn’t smart. When I was in high school, she told me there was only one thing I was good at, and that was being onstage, pretending to be someone else. She’s cruel. She’s been with me so long; I didn’t acknowledge her until two years ago when I was filling in for a high school teacher. I had asked the students to write a letter to their younger selves. It turned out to be an enlightening lesson not only for the students but for me. When I read…
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Begin
Guitar in hand, he rode the escalator up and down for hours. Music blared from the speakers below while he lip-synced and strummed. It was 1989. I walked from Korea Town to Wilshire Blvd. to catch a bus to The West Side Pavillion. It was there that I secured my first LA job folding clothes for The Gap. I stood watching and listening to the mystery man with the guitar. When a coworker joined me, I asked her if she knew who he was. She looked at me with the same expression I give anyone who says they’ve never seen Schitt’s Creek. “It’s Tom Petty.” Every time I hear the…
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Aligators, Anxiety, and Acceptance
Caution Alligator Habitat. That’s what the sign said. The one, my husband, told me not to read. My daughter called out from her, paddleboard, “why would you tell her that?” I froze. My mind flashed to hiking in the mountains two months earlier and seeing all the warnings of bears. I had joked with my husband, saying apparently, I was more scared of COVID than bears. Was the same true for alligators? No. This was my first-time paddle boarding—standing on flat foam. At least a kayak had sides. My one request had been finding somewhere far from alligators. Request denied. My husband plopped the paddleboard in the water. He didn’t…
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How Peloton Helped Our Marriage
This past July, we added a new member to our family—a Peloton bike. Eric had been a spinning enthusiast for years while I preferred running. We both missed going to the gym, and we knew we needed to reclaim our exercise routines for our health. The weeks before our bike arrived, Eric counted the days and joined the app. He ordered shoes, weights, and headphones while I took a reluctant, it’s not running, but I’ll give it a try attitude. The morning it arrived was like Christmas for Eric. The delivery men put it together outside due to Covid-19. Then Eric and I carried it upstairs to our new workout…