On the precipice of a new 365, one must really take account of the months behind them. I found myself speed-walking backwards into the hallways of memory, replaying the cinematic narratives of timely happenstances. Purpose driven. Life-transforming. Without notice. New asphalt, new faces, deep connections, roads paved in concrete, roses bursting between the cracks. A …
The Morning After
The morning after the turn of a decade for me. As they say in life, the big 4-0. Sadness is seductive, almost sexy. We drape it over us like a blanket in the dead of winter nights, pulling it under our chins, wrapping our feet from the bottom so a toe doesn't wiggle out. But …
Without Walls
New scenes enthrall me. The art of story through lens, through language, through the sequence of human experience captivate me. Off the shoulders of another trip, the cinema of her effervescent beauty & injuries still beckon my conscience. The island of Puerto Rico still stands erect like a flag half staff, like the hills that …
TAG You’re It!
It's almost cinematic. Dream-like. We reside in the suspension of disbelief. We as a nation are running out of time. We are running out of words and phrases. In 2018 alone, the school-related shootings are mounting. Our schools, the students, the staff are under seige...and it keeps happening. According to CNN, they report, "We're 21 …
You’re Under Arrest
The weekend came so fast. I remember her reaching out, asking if I could be the speaker at their next retreat. It was on Esther. My girl. The theme: Made for this. Joan of Arc spin. 3 sessions on the entirty of Esther. Tall order, but she had me at will you... A week ago …
Skin Sermons
Skin sermons. This one hurt. Yet, so did the meaning behind it. TuPAC once wrote a poem called “The Rose That Grew From Concrete.” He penned the stanzas: “Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Proving nature's laws wrong, it learned to walk without having feet. Funny, it …
Schools & Bullets
Yesterday marking the 18th school related shooting of 2018 at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. Almost 20 slain. Teachers, students, staff. One armed-expelled student. Arms extended, students walking out in single file in a sweltering delirium. The scene all too familiar. I digress. This image taken by my husband right outside my classroom with …
#18
Woah! January 1st. It always possesses this magical quality, almost mystical if you will. An opportunity to turn pages that read the chapters of our fleeting lives. So here we are. 2018. 18. 8. Let's focus on the number 8. For an English teacher, I have this fascination with numbers and their significance. Can I …
Living with PTSD
Wrote this in December of last year. Courage gave way this morning. Here goes nothing. I remember the diagnosis conversation. Nestled in a box of an office on the corner of Cermak and California. The year around 2012. The place: Latino Youth High School. Hot red Chicago gang turfs surrounded the building like electrical tape. …
Blessed are the Injured.
I’m a loser. You’re a loser too. Just like the show, we are the biggest losers. It was good that I lost. That I lose. That I experienced a take-away. Or as Paul once penned, “It was good that I was afflicted.” When the body is injured, it goes into rehabilitation mode. Dead tissue, tumors, …
Sofia Speaks 