People ask me how I’m holding on after everything that happened to me. How do you keep going when one person’s reckless decision permanently changes your life? The truth is, some days I’m barely holding on by a thread. One man’s choice didn’t just destroy my car. It destroyed my livelihood, my body, and my ability to live the life I built. He took my leg. And as a photographer and artist, my work depended on being on my feet—moving constantly, creating memories, capturing love, telling stories through my lens. That life was taken from me in an instant. Now I live with constant anxiety about how I’m going to pay my rent, cover my bills, and survive while trying to heal from catastrophic injuries. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have a landlord who has shown compassion and patience, but the reality is, that understanding can only last so long. There are days when I feel one wrong word away from a panic attack. But I’ve learned that I cannot afford to live in fear. I cannot let my ...
When Survival Looks Like Dependence There are moments in life where everything you thought you understood about yourself gets stripped away. For me, it happened in a single instant—an accident that left me with severe injuries, a long recovery ahead, and a body I no longer recognized. I’ve been trying to process it ever since. Not just the physical pain, but the emotional weight of waking up into a completely different reality. A reality where I’m dependent on other people for basic things I used to do without thinking. And that’s where things get complicated. Because dependence doesn’t always come with safety. Sometimes it comes with tension. Sometimes it comes with resentment. Sometimes it comes wrapped in help that has strings attached. The Strange Place I Ended Up In Before my accident, I broke up with my boyfriend. That part was clear. I didn’t love him, and I didn’t want to be in the relationship anymore. But life doesn’t always respect clear decisions. While I was ...