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This feeling was new and fun and exciting and one I wanted to feel a million more times.

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My best friend didn’t tell me her house was haunted, but somehow I knew.

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We should take whatever we can hold onto, be it a God, a true love, or the stars. And for me it was most definitely the stars—or more specifically, the universe.

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Don’t forget about me.

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I wanted to find my own sensei to lead the way—someone like Wendy Rhoades from Showtime’s Billions. So, my search began. I googled, dug through Thumbtack.com, and even ventured onto Yelp. I was hopeful, but things took a weird turn.

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On night shifts, I have cumulatively told strangers and acquaintances more about myself than my best friends know about me.

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Skating gave me wings. I was good at it, and the music was always right at the roller rink in my town. I could skate for days. I forgot everything when I was there, and there was nothing to struggle about.

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When we hear of hard-knock cases that have had to move their families into shelters, or new countries for that matter, to escape poverty, war, natural disasters, danger, we say, “Well if that was me, I’d…”
The reality is that it isn’t us. Until it is.