Pain pulses through the left side of my body charging across the point where my spine twists around then curves to the left shooting a sharp pinch into my shoulder blade muscles and pulling on my neck muscles where the dull pulse pounds. Looking and listening to water or a steady breeze calms the acheContinueContinue reading “Exercising My Scoliosis Demons”
Author Archives: Lisa Chesser
Sometimes, we just don’t need to talk.
Relationships grow, crumble, fade, part, and regenerate. It’s when they’re quiet that you know you’ve done something right. It’s the kind of quiet where neither one of you needs to talk. You don’t need to ogle each other like teenagers or stare lovingly into each other’s eyes like you desperately can’t live without the otherContinueContinue reading “Sometimes, we just don’t need to talk.”
We are All Clowns.
There we were. Our stage lit up. Our eyes blackened, mouths drawn in the shape of a distorted smile, giant red noses, oversized coats, huge feet. We fought for attention. And, we got it. We were the clowns in Slava’s Snow Show. It all began with a noose hanging around his neck, which he onlyContinueContinue reading “We are All Clowns.”
The Green-Eyed Monster: A Letter to People with Straight Hair
I just got my hair cut and I loved it…when it was wet. When it dried, when the humidity settled in, I wore a beautifully highlighted but not so cool Afro. As much as I love Afros on other women, which we’ll talk about in another post, on another day, I don’t like an afro onContinueContinue reading “The Green-Eyed Monster: A Letter to People with Straight Hair”
The Best Summer Ever
The great part about being a parent is always the intensity with which kids force me to have fun. They bend my perception of myself backwards to a time when I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to stand like that or say those things. So, here’s what happens when you spend summer with kids. 1.ContinueContinue reading “The Best Summer Ever”
Woman of Steel Uses Comedy as a Weapon
When she made me laugh right in the middle of a full-on breakdown, sending salty snot flying from my nose, I knew my sister was my hero. The first time I saw her perform standup, it left me not just laughing but gaping in awe of her ability to hurtle a crowd into fits ofContinueContinue reading “Woman of Steel Uses Comedy as a Weapon”
Dream Home in Venus Domes
Tucked away somewhere in Florida, there’s a place called Venus. In particular, it’s the Venus Project created by Jacque Fresco. Dreams live there. And, the homes do too. They’re domes and at first glance they look like igloos, but in Florida that would be a paradox to say the least. I found out about theseContinueContinue reading “Dream Home in Venus Domes”
The Colors of To Kill A Mockingbird
Every year since I began teaching, my students and I read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee together. They reluctantly open it and groan because after the first page, they almost unanimously claim confusion and therefore annoyance. By the third chapter, they’re excited, irritated, laughing out loud, and angry. They love reading with aContinueContinue reading “The Colors of To Kill A Mockingbird”
You’re only as good as your enemy. That would be you, mom.
Rolling your eyes at your mother seems a rite of passage for most girls. My daughter rolled her eyes so much lately that I finally rolled mine back at her. Of course, I was extra dramatic about it. I rolled my eyes up with an extended flutter to emphasize the severity of only the whiteContinueContinue reading “You’re only as good as your enemy. That would be you, mom.”
Our Education God: The Test
Teachers often share many similarities with the students they admonish, chastise, chase, change, and ultimately love like a mother who spends her days doing the same. Because we’re together so much of the time and essentially trapped in the same environment, teachers want to escape just as much as students do, especially at this timeContinueContinue reading “Our Education God: The Test”
BraveSmartBold 