2019 was not my year, in fact, I think it’s safe to say that it was the hardest year of my life. Like so many, I started 2019 with a strong feeling that it was going to be “my year” and be filled with lots of adventures and new opportunities. I put my faith in the start of a new year instead of in myself, assuming that the power of a date in time would be enough of a catalyst to get me to where I wanted to go, but needless to say I was wrong.
This past year has brought me pain, grief, and the most challenging tests of faith that I have ever experienced in my life, and I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t happy that it’s finally ended.
But as much as this past year has tested me, it’s also given me the biggest opportunity to grow as a person. The girl who started 2019 and the one who...
Lifestyle
Surviving a near death experience at age 33 turned my perspective on mortality right-side up. If you or someone you know would benefit from a personalized letter about using adversity to grow stronger, experience joy, and feel more fulfilled, I’ll write one and mail it to him/her. The letter will be enclosed with a copy of my memoir “Praise God for Tattered Dreams” (ISBN 9780578033754).
For more information, please see the eBay posting with the same title as this letter.
Peace to you,
E.E. Laine
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Surviving Melanoma and Loving Someone Who Is
I am a Christian. I am a woman. I am a wife. I am a mother of four amazing boys. I am a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter, a friend. I am a teacher, a school counsellor, a leader. And now, I am a cancer survivor. I visualize who I am through the lenses of these labels. I never thought I would add that last label to the list.
My skin has always been covered in moles and freckles that were a real source of insecurity. It took me a long time to love each spec. I taught my boys to call them angel kisses as they randomly appeared on their skin and that each one was special and unique. I didn’t want to project my complex onto them. I had a mole gradually changing on my shoulder for a few years. Last summer it had changed enough that my dad...
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Salut moi de plus tard.
J'ai aujourd'hui 15ans, nous sommes le 23/04/2020 et nous sommes en plein confinement à cause du coronavirus. On est censé reprendre les cours dans moins de deux semaines mais je ne pense pas que ça va se passer comme ça. POURQUOI ?! Parce que c'est un gros risque. Mais je ne suis pas la pour ça. Je veux que quand je lirais cette lettre, je puisse répondre à des questions que je me pause maintenant et qui pèsent sur mon moral et mon physique.
À ce jour, j'ai des gros problèmes avec l'acceptation de mon corps… Est ce que tu as réussi à dépassé celà parce que sache que même si tu ne le sais pas tu es MAGNIFIQUE et tu n'as pas le droit dans douté et que les regards des autres n'importent peu à ton propre jugement.
Une de mes questions complétement débile…...
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A Letter to the Women of America
It’s a Friday night, and you find yourself at the nearest bar relaxing after a long work week. A man approaches you, compliments you, then offers to buy you a drink. Whatever the reason may be, you say, “No thanks” and try to continue your evening. The man then asks that oh so familiar question: “Do you have a boyfriend?”
Oh boy, here we go again.
At this point, you either lie to get him off your back, or you tell the truth. The answer doesn’t matter sometimes, so you prepare for the worst. He starts to get angry saying that he’s just being a “nice guy”. You try to explain that you’re not interested and that it’s nothing personal, but this just makes him angrier. He starts to insult you, demean you, and may even get physical. You end up being...
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Jai Shri Krishna! Jai Shri Ramachandra! Jai ShriLakshmi Narasimha!
Dr. Bharathraj Iyengar with you.
I had read scriptural texts that spoke of new times to come, times that would usher the children of the sky, times that would bring in ‘Light Souls’who would endeavor to aid the lost denizens of the planet to evolve collectively, if only to spare the latter from the repeated & ugly boomerangs of their self-created karmas (Coronavirus, a glaring example), but I hadn’t thought I’d come across someone this soon; not that I am not happy,he-he, far from it! I’m elated! Blessings!
And why does it gladden my heart to have got to know about you?
Because you speak the language I’ve always spoken, and you voice the notions I’ve firmly stood by from a little over the past four decades of...
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Dear Me,
The burden you hold on yourself is heavy. You're letting life pass by as you sit and watch.
Therefore, the real question I have for you is
Are you actually living life… or just surviving in it?
When are you going to realize there is more to life than just school and work? When are you going to leave the house when you have free time and explore? Why do you spend so little time on doing what you want?
You are filled with Adventure. The barriers you put up in your mind for not doing what you want are mere excuses.
“I don’t have the time.”
“I don’t have no one to go with.”
“I don’t have the money.”
Gandhi once said, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow.” If you were to die tomorrow, would you be satisfied… with the life you lived? You were raised up...
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Understanding the Alcoholic
Alcoholism is a major problem in today’s society. Drinking heavily on a day-to-day basis causes problem with oneself and affects relationships with others. Danger is always near when alcohol is present. Drunk driving, abusive behavior and lack of functioning are all problems alcoholics face when they let the bottle consume their lives. For some it’s the “medicine” they seek and desire, they find pleasure when they finally realized they are now buzzed.
Alcoholism and love do not go hand-and-hand
They say opposites attract and many people are willing to help those overcome their addictions, but when you have a strong desire to love and heavy drinking problem, you are not going to get a beautiful outcome. Alcoholism and domestic violence often co-occur. In...
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America, this is Your Marine Corps
I feel like most of America has this false image of Marines. When you become one, and you return home for the first time, it's like being a superhero. People who didn't even know you existed suddenly become very friendly, and almost everyone seems to offer their respect in a way you've never seen. Most folks assume you're a badass killer, a man/woman not to be trifled with.
For many Marines—this couldn’t be further from the truth.
This is the truth: Marines are not what you think they are. Some are—indeed—exemplary men and women, yet they do not represent the whole. There are mediocre Marines...and terrible ones.
First thing that comes to mind is the recruiters. What they don't tell you is—no matter what you're looking for—you...
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the offices where the Colonial and Sargent Major are. All you do is answer phones and take messages deal with taxis and people who wouldn’t be able to make it to PT and work in the morning. Dealing with cabs because people are to drunk and not able to pay for the cab. Dealing with fires and cleaning all day and night. Not being able to sleep until the next morning when you finally get to go home.
The little to no sleep at night to early mornings to long hours and traveling for days just to make it to a country that’s going through hell. And you get stuck in the middle of the chaos. Most people I ask who have been in, would do it all over again just because it was an adventure that them through their one way or other.
With all of that being saidt was a crazy time making friends...
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