sofestrella

A Necessary Beverage

“What are you drinking? It looks like you’re walking around with a giant margarita,” my physical therapist chuckled. Despite sensing his collegial intentions I bristled, took another sip, and explained that the beverage helped manage my nausea. I was in my third year of living with herniated discs from a work injury that caused muscleContinue reading “A Necessary Beverage”

Why Journal?

I kept a diary growing up but lost interest in high school when my mom admitted she read it. After college, even with the privacy of my own apartment, the endeavor felt juvenile and a little narcissistic. But as someone who lives with the barrage of never-ending thoughts that accompany anxiety, I now believe thatContinue reading “Why Journal?”

What Does Chronic Pain Feel Like?

Dear Humans Unfamiliar With Chronic Pain, What part of yourself do you wish strangers could see? For me, it’s the invisible collection I carry everywhere from chronic pain. The collection began with a shift, an accident while working with a student, defined using medical terms “lumbar disc herniations” and “radiculopathy.” While these words explain theContinue reading “What Does Chronic Pain Feel Like?”

More Than a Getaway

“As a first generation New Yorker with parents from Puerto Rico and family on the island . . . I do not exist without both or either.” Lin-Manuel Miranda

On Finding Synchronicity

What sensation do you associate with tears? For me, I remember a tightening in my chest and brows as I try to stop what’s already happening. Because of chronic pain (and just being an emotional human), I cry a lot – in doctors’ offices, while walking down the street, even the occasional puddle of tearsContinue reading “On Finding Synchronicity”

Using My #SmileVeil

PC Anna Maria Kommonen-Diaz The idea that brought me here. How many times a day do I use my smile veil to disguise what I’m actually feeling? This mini-lie is a technique I, like many others, mastered at a young age. When getting ready to perform at a piano recital, wobbly with fear, I alwaysContinue reading “Using My #SmileVeil”