19Sep 2016 by CJ

Piece by Piece – moving on from abandonment

Love & Relationships, Youth
When I first heard Kelly Clarkson’s song Piece by Piece, I found myself listening to it over and over again. I rarely define a style of music I listen to, mainly because I’m often attracted to amazing lyrics more than anything else. And Clarkson’s song certainly delivers. Here’s how her musical journey begins: And all I remember is your back Walking towards the airport, leaving us all in your past I traveled fifteen hundred miles to see you Begged you to want me, but you didn’t want to It’s the real-life story of Clarkson’s absentee father, and how her husband eventually was able to pick up the shattered pieces of her life and reaffirm there are still men out there who know how to be caring; know how to be…
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14Sep 2016 by CJ

Nelly – why should your fans have to pay your taxes?

Life & Living
An important news bulletin. It appears that rapper Nelly (singer of the 2002 hit "Hot in Herre") has been a bad boy and now is in trouble with the government for not paying his taxes. But fear not! His adoring fans are coming to his rescue. They’ve started a social media campaign urging everyone to stream his song on Spotify – the more the song is streamed, the more money Nelly will make to bail himself out of debt. Are you serious? I can’t tell you how infuriated this makes me, especially given the fact that so many misguided individuals are championing this cause to help out the popular rapper. I’m reminded of a quote by Criss Jami: “Man is not, by nature, deserving of all that he wants. When…
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12Sep 2016 by CJ

Suicide – a decision you cannot change

Life & Living
“Only if you have been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain.” – Richard M. Nixon Last week a 16-year-old girl committed suicide at the school where my wife teaches. It was a complete and horrifying shock to her friends, who had no idea she was contemplating it, nor did they know of any apparent reason . It was a complete shock to the faculty and staff, who just the day before were talking with her in the hallway – never once noticing anything peculiar or alarming. And truly, it was a complete shock to me. While I’ve experienced depression and days of darkness when I just wasn’t sure I had the strength to go on, I never felt…
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05Sep 2016 by CJ

Amending familial relationships can be hard

Life & Living, Love & Relationships
“It's not a person’s mistakes which define them - it's the way they make amends.”  ― Freya North I have cousins on my mother’s side, whom I haven’t seen in over 30 years. While some familial relationships experience such absences based on geographical location or the expansion of sub-families, mine seems to have more dramatic undertones, rather than a logical reality. Without airing out all my dirty laundry, there was a supposed “falling out” between members of the family - details of which have been the subject of speculation for years, but never fully revealed to me. I was around eight-years-old when this all occurred. And while I fully understand how turmoil inside the family can quickly divide people against each other, for me there’s still that little eight-year-old boy wondering…
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29Aug 2016 by CJ

Guilt can be a useful tool in moderation

Life & Living
“When you are guilty, it is not your sins you hate but yourself.” - Anthony de Mello, One Minute Wisdom I grew up in an Italian-American family, and if there’s one thing Italians know how to do well it’s guilt each other. I try not to play that card in my personal life – having lived through enough of that drama for the majority of my life. But today my Italian heritage was shining through. I was trying to make a point – trying my best NOT to play the card hidden up my sleeve. But after much going back and forth with little to no progress, I embarrassingly played the guilt card. For a moment I felt like my mother – overdramatizing the situation in order to get the reaction…
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