Apr 15Back in App: a Love StorySwift and shining thoughts nibble at me minnow-like in uncountable clusters; and when I catch one, there are a thousand more. Each hour the population increases, and the task to capture the entire school of slippery sentiment seems hopeless. Even telling the following story to my best friend, my aunt…Dating9 min read
Feb 25Strength and Toxic Dynamics: Exploring the Masculine and FeminineI must’ve broken up with him a dozen times during our two years together. We would make plans to go away together or to a concert, and my thoughts would become corn kernels in the pot, swirling and shuttering as the heat rose. Often, I cancelled last-minute. Other times, not…Relationships10 min read
Feb 16Writing, Self-Efficacy, Training: An Update on my LifeThe slim trees do their hula dance under a concrete sky, while droplets trickle down the trembling windowpanes. The dog snores from a dimly-lit corner as my thoughts wander and my coffee grows cold. …Mental Health6 min read
Jan 61 Thing That Will Improve Your Life2022 is rolling along, and many of us are slogging through our first week of New Years’ Resolutions. I used to scoff at such lists because resolve tends to crumble sometime in February, usually in a deluge of Valentines’ chocolate. Also, as a borderline fitness freak, I feel change is…Resolutions5 min read
Aug 31, 2021Meet Me in New York“How’s Keri today? Want to meet me in New York December 23rd?” My mom loved old movies and mad-capped schemes. So, her text was not necessarily a surprise. I was only taken aback because she asked me and not one of her boisterous gal-pals. To play in this scene, I’d have to fly during the holiday season from my home in Germany. …Grief7 min read
Published in Wholistique·Jun 12, 2021Beyond Sadness: Grieving the Difficult RelationshipIf you’ve ever lost someone, you know how it is to be always waiting for them to do that one annoying thing they always did. You may have their ashes in a box on your nightstand. Maybe you even held their hand as they died. Hell, you were the one…Grief6 min read
Published in .THE TURNING POINT·May 5, 2021Rewriting My Midlife CrisisAs I lounged on the display model of my dream sofa a couple years ago, I thought of my dog’s velociraptor nails on that supple saddle leather. …Mental Health8 min read
Jan 28, 2021Third Culture Country: Expat Life in a PandemicIt is ironic the year I am applying for permanent residency in Germany is also the year I have most deeply wanted to go back to America. Part of this longing is the pandemic, I simply miss my family, but it is also political. Over the past four years, people…Expat7 min read
Oct 16, 2020Hanging On: the Ugly Truth about StressI have this bad habit of internalizing stress. Last year I got shingles after dislocating my shoulder. I had acute abdominal pain I swore was cancer. (All the tests came back fine). When I’ve had a lot of stress, my immune system takes a hit, and I end up with…Mental Health6 min read
Oct 1, 2020I Break Together,Ich breche zusammen’ is one of the first German phrases to confuse the hell out of me. “Break” was clear, but to add the word “together” made no sense. How can one “break together?” Of course, that was my B1 level self literally translating, which as we all know, should…Germany7 min read
