I recently found myself no longer walking forward in my life. I was bitter, depressed, frustrated, and completely miserable. The reason: I was trying to be someone who I am not. Have you ever done that? Have you ever tried to fit in because it’s glaringly obvious that you simply don’t? Have you tried to be…
Author: Janae
A Good Cry
I used to think crying was a bad thing. When I was young I’d get sent to my room for crying too much. My parents didn’t know that I had a reason for crying and that I just didn’t know how to tell them about it. They probably thought I was being a spoiled brat….
A Letter to Every Lonely Heart
Recently I was looking back through a conversation from a few years ago between myself and a friend of mine. She’s several years younger than me, and hadn’t had very good luck with dating or boys in general, and in one of her really disheartened moments after a relationship-gone-bad, along with a dose of low…
The River of Life
I have one main goal in life: to live a happy, healthy, balanced life. But there’s one truth I’ve learned just this week about pursuing that goal: Just when I’ve got it all figured out, something changes and I have to pursue my goal all over again. I like to think that I have my…
Do Some Good
I run a network where bloggers can get help and feedback for improving their blogs. Because of it, I face challenges and unpleasant moments every week, but I also get to see the goodness within people occasionally surface. For example, I recently watched a chat conversation unfold where a new blogger was asking for help…
Life Lessons From a One-year-old
Child-like wisdom may sound like an ironic juxtaposition, but I have come to better understand some profound truths from my 14-month old son, Graham. Witnessing a brand new life begin and watching an infant turn into a toddler has offered some incredible learning opportunities for me, and my own forward walking in life has been better…
A Midnight Stroll
My husband and I have only been married for 3 and a half years (and we’ve been best friends for over 7 years). But I’m pretty sure we have already figured out one of many not-so-secretive secrets to keeping a strong and happy marriage. We go through cycles of being entirely thrilled about our marriage,…
Defeating PTSD: Living Life
When you have PTSD or any other mental disorder, living a “normal life” can be a challenge, especially if you don’t get the help and support you need to heal from it. And even when you do have all of the best possible resources, it’s not always easy. But day-to-day life can still be pleasant…
Defeating PTSD: Forgiveness
When I first began going to therapy for PTSD, I had a really hard time with the concept of forgiveness. It was this big important landmark of a thing that I could never actually learn to do right–or even at all. I harbored a lot of anger and resentment deep inside my damaged soul. How…