My husband and I became foster parents because of infertility. Finding out we would never have our own children was hard, but it was something that we could handle. Receiving our first foster-care placement was, to me, like giving birth. He felt like he was mine from the moment I saw his

Let's get the hard part out of the way first: I have endometriosis.Endometriosis is a disease where endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus. It's a debilitating condition that affects one in 10 girls and women in the United States. One in 10! That means you probably know someone who has

It’s the love triangle that so many romantic comedies' plots follow: main character has a crush on a quirky yet lovable guy, and that guy falls for the best friend instead. Except, in this case, the crush fell for my twin sister.I met Ryan* at a coffee shop where he often lurked to read a

Trigger warning: self-harm and suicidal ideation.After years of interviews, internships and rejections, I finally got a paid job in my dream industry: music publishing. Though the work would be mainly administrative, I fantasized about the opportunities this role could bring, the friends I would

Before my shift started at the restaurant where I worked, I changed into my chef “whites” as usual in the employee locker room located in the basement. The restaurant was always busy, which translated into a very hot kitchen. Due to all of the running I did in the heat, by the end of my shift I was