“Throughout my life, it seems like people have always been seeking my advice on how to handle certain situations. I’ve often wondered, why me? What is it that I provide that’s helpful? Maybe it stems from the fact that I’ve been...
“Drugs, alcoholism, domestic violence — all of that was in our life growing up. “My dad was a salesman. He made a lot of money, but he spent it on alcohol and drugs. He beat my mom often. They ended up...
“It began in college. I had a class called Sex and Gender in Latin America. It was talking about the machismo culture and what women in those countries are going through, not really being protected or having a voice for themselves....
“When my ex-husband and I were deployed the first time to Afghanistan, my kids were separated. My oldest daughter stayed with my family and the twins were with his family. So they don’t have that normal sister bond. They didn’t really...
“When you go into the military, you have this illusion that you can have it all. You can have a family. You can serve your country. You can have an amazing, fulfilling career. You know it will come with sacrifices. But...
“I was in the industrial painting business for about 35 years. I remember working on the bigger tanks at places like Exxon. We would sandblast and then paint them. The toughest part was sandblasting. We used these big hoses, and it...
“I started having this pain in my breast. It was getting really bad. When I went to the doctor and she felt the lump, she said, ‘You need to get tests done right now.’ I learned that when the radiologist comes...
“In May 2011, he was in a serious motorcycle accident. The guy who caused the wreck ended up robbing him. He was left down by the bayou, 30 feet from the water. He was unconscious for two weeks in the intensive...
“Living with my grandmother back in Louisiana, I would always be in the kitchen while she was cooking. So I guess it just came natural to me. “I remember being 7 years old, standing on a chair, trying to fix some...
“This is my stepson. I’m dating his mom. We’ve been together a few years now. It’s going well. We recently got a house. It’s a pretty big step. Hopefully, we’ll get married one day. “I like the idea of being somebody...
