Yesterday was the day when it all happened. Somehow everyone just disappeared, everyone but me. My friends, family, even my enemies are all gone, and there are no traces where they went. I’m all alone in this new deserted world, whether I want to be or not. Now I really know the meaning of one […]

“Mom is strong. She can fight this,” I said. “Right?” “She’ll fight her hardest. That’s for sure,” my dad said. And that’s exactly what she did. My mom’s strength and integrity is what I admired the most about her. And they are the traits I wanted and needed as a 13-year-old watching her go through […]

He’s still there. I have had someone following me for ten years. Every time I look over my shoulder, he isn’t far behind. The more I learn more about him, the scarier he looks and the more uncomfortable I feel around him. As I age, he ages, too. I can see the maturity in his […]

Will Rogers once said, “If you want to be successful, it’s just this simple. Know what you are doing. Love what you are doing. And believe in what you are doing.” About three years ago, I read a book that I had recently checked out at the library. It was called All the Light We […]

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. The vibration from the helicopter rattles my bones as I cautiously stumble my way across the Mendenhall Glacier. I can scarcely hear the guide as he begins his monologue regarding the glacier’s history. I grip my grandmother’s gloved hand tightly as we trek towards the crevasse. My heart quickens, and although I […]

A funny thing happened on the way to “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Myfour-year-old fingers were wrapped around the remote, seeking the trolley bell’sfamiliar ring, when I was drawn to the steady beat of a heart monitor. I nevermade it to the Neighborhood that day. Instead, I spent the afternoon in theoperating room of some distant hospital, […]

When I was nine, one of my favorite things to say to classmates was, “I have rock-solid abs. Really, I do. Punch me in the stomach and I’ll prove it.” Few people took me up on this unusual offer, but those who did touch my abdomen were surprised to find that it was, indeed, unnaturally […]

In May, my mom told me about a summer babysitting job. Not realizing the challenge ahead of me, I took it. I remember my first day. Anxious. Excited. Not sure of what to think. Is he going to like me? What will I have to do? Will everything be okay? Everyday was a surprise. Slowly, […]

Big bright brown eyes stared up at me, peering through long dark eyelashes. Small, tan arms found their way around my legs, encircling me in a world of warmth. A smile was etched from ear to ear with an unfaltering gaze. And, as I looked down, I soon found my expression to mimic that of […]

“Eu thanatos” is the Greek origin for Euthanasia, which means “good death”. Euthanasia has come to mean the intentional ending of a life because the person would be better off dead. This means they’d be free from suffering. (Munns) As an existentialist, we have free will for there is no God to mandate our personal […]