It’s your birthday on Friday. In your 60-plus years of life, you’ve experienced unpredictable moments of tumultuous joy, uncontrollable laughter, celebrations, loss and heartache. But one thing that has remained true, at least in my 26 years, is that you — Dad — have always been my biggest fan. --- ...

More than 49,000 people died by suicide in 2022 in the U.S.; that is one death every 11 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Those numbers hit closer to home this summer when I found out that someone I went to high school with took his own life. This was someon...

Eight years ago, I packed up a 2000s Dodge Durango — a four-door vehicle that has a history reigning true from my husband’s family to mine — to head two hours on IH-35 southbound to Texas State University. It was college move-in day. My mom was next to me in the passenger’s seat and my dad was trail...

It was the end of a long week, but more particularly, a long day at work. I clocked out, walked downstairs at the university’s dining hall and grabbed my stuff out of the locker to leave. Parking was a terrible and annoying concept at my school. Basically, if you were a freshman and purchased a park...

Wednesday, May 22. It was a normal day out west, with the simmering sun blazing down ahead of summer and me going about my typical routine. But, more than 5 hours away in my hometown that same evening, an EF-2 tornado with 120 miles-per-hour winds was wreaking havoc and massive destruction. Power li...

I never thought when we packed up several cars and a U-Haul to move out to this small Texas desert town of Fort Stockton three years ago that it would ever feel like home. That is, until it did. I’ve always been a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and God works in the most mysteriou...

Right before the holidays, I heard the tragic news that one of my classmates from high school unexpectedly passed away in his New York apartment. When I knew Nathan, he would light up any room as if it were a stage — a space where he felt comfortable to be truly himself and showcase his talent. He w...

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the tragic news of a small movie theater in Fort Stockton — a small town in West Texas — having to shut its doors just after 21 months of business. On Dec. 15, 2023, the theater announced on Facebook that the city decided to terminate its lease contract due to failure ...

Movies spark our imaginations to come to life, helping us believe that anything and everything is possible. They transport us to other dimensions, galaxies far far away, mystical wardrobes and alternate realities for us to escape into. They allow us to have instant excitement from the moment that we...