Years after writing them, I am surprised by how relevant they remain. — Back when I joined Medium in 2018, I had a lot on my mind. Access to abortion was being consistently threatened by conservative politicians who were allowing religion to infiltrate the government. After growing up in Christian fundamentalism, I wanted to speak up and share my experiences leaving that repressive…

Just because you might not notice a disability doesn’t mean it’s any less real to those of us living with one. — I am currently living with a disease called endometriosis, a chronic condition called Interstitial Cystitis, IBS, and an undiagnosed autoimmune disease. On any given day I have joint pain and swelling, severe fatigue that isn’t helped by resting, brain fog, nausea and lack of appetite, and pelvic pain.

Stop blaming women, and recognize the economic crisis making motherhood unaffordable. — Falling birthrates have a number of people concerned for the future of society. According to Elon Musk, doom awaits us if we don’t work on remedying this: “If people don’t have more children, civilization is going to crumble.” Some “elite couples” from Silicon Valley have even set out to somehow…

Forced to give up my daily coffee fix, I learned whether I could function without it. — Coffee has long been the backbone of capitalism. Fueling human productivity and focus, it enables us to get more done every day. Caffeine is the most widely used and depended-on drug in the world. In today’s fast-paced world, it’s no secret that many of us rely on caffeine to jumpstart…

Why one man’s attempt to ride 100 miles has equestrians concerned for the animal’s welfare — When a tech worker named Cyril Bertheau quit his job, bought a cheap horse off Craigslist, and announced he would be riding one hundred miles from Austin to Seattle, the internet was intrigued. But curiosity about this tech-guru-turned-cowboy quickly spiraled into horror as knowledgeable equestrians noticed Bertheau’s misuse of equipment…

The feminist movement to prevent assault and trauma applies to our animals as well. — I learned the lesson most people assigned female at birth learn at a young age: your body is not your own. People tell you how you should dress, what weight and shape is ideal, how long your hair should be and how to style it. …

Through the loss of a childhood dream, I learned to find beauty in grief. — Every spring, daffodils come bursting through the cold, hard dirt of winter to reveal their yellow flowers like long-awaited sunshine after the snow. They are so irresistibly beautiful that the scientific name for wild daffodils, Narcissus pseudonarcissus, references the Greek myth of the man who fell in love with his…

How one small act of kindness changed everything for an animal in need — I didn’t know what to expect when I saw my new horse for the first time. I had paid for her sight unseen, and arranged for her to be shipped to Oregon from Washington. …

Evolution, Eve’s apple, and a religious agenda aimed at oppressing women. — Do you know the story of Adam and Eve? It’s a Biblical creation story about the dawn of humankind, a perfect garden, and a fall from grace. In sum, the first woman is tempted by the devil to eat forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge and gets herself and…