

More Than "Just a Headache"
June is National Headache & Migraine Awareness Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness about a condition that affects millions of people but is often misunderstood. More than 40 million Americans live with migraine disease, and over one billion people worldwide are affected by migraine and other headache disorders. Despite these numbers, many people continue to suffer in silence, often dismissing their symptoms as simply part of everyday life. I know because I was one of


Losing My Purpose, Finding My People.
When I was nine, I knew I was going to join the military. I knew my destiny, my purpose. There was no need for a backup plan. As I got older, it became clear that nothing was going to change that for me. When September eleventh happened, I was in my English class, watching the fear that blanketed our country. My high school was just 15 minutes from O'Hare International Airport. It was the event that made it clear to me who I was and what I wanted: to protect those whom I love


America Is In Distress: Jim Crow 2.0
My understanding of voting did not begin in a classroom or through a book. It began with living, breathing stories about my grandfather voting for the first time. The first time he voted was after the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed. Before that, he couldn’t. He had seen men lynched and castrated just for trying. On Election Day in November 1965, he prepared with dignity—meticulously starching and ironing his shirt and overalls until they stood on their own, polishing hi















