C. Streetlights's Blog, page 2
February 17, 2019
On Writing
I taught English for many years in what I sometimes refer to as my “old life.” I taught writing to 6th graders who were one-part children and five-parts hormonal whirlwinds. I taught writing to 11th graders who were in a lockdown facility who honestly could not care less about roads diverging in yellow woods unless one of those roads led ...
January 10, 2019
Peaches & Control
Peaches & Control,C Streetlights
Oh I do believe there is no other more seductive word in the world than “control”. I love to be in control — of myself, the environment, of situations around me. I need control in order to function. Much of this has to do with my personality. Much has to do with being a sexual assault survivor. Regardless of where ...
November 14, 2018
Five Ways to Bust Your Way Through Writer’s Block
Five Ways to Bust Your Way Through Writer’s Block,C Streetlights
When you know that an unknown audience will potentially read your writing, inspiration can suddenly shut down. I only have about six consistent readers and it can be hard to silence the inner critic that will sometimes take up residence in my crown chakra. Here are five things I’ve learned to help me chisel away my writer’s block. Read ...
Read MoreNovember 11, 2018
Life, Enough
If my life turned out the way I wanted when I was younger I would have been blonde-haired, blue-eyed, big-boobed and pale-skinned like all the other Southern California robots I grew up. I love my brown hair and eyes, and I love my tan that never goes away. As a child, all I wanted was to never be noticed, never ...
Read MoreAugust 5, 2018
The Resurrection of my Mother
The Resurrection of my Mother,C Streetlights
We lost my mother suddenly July 19th and I have been in a state of shock since 6 o’clock that morning. Waves of grief have ebbed and flowed over numbness these last few weeks as my father, brother, sister and I have found ourselves in a world so foreign to us that we don’t know to navigate its customs nor ...
Read MoreJune 16, 2018
never promised
What good is an epiphany if I don’t act on it in my life? What good is a sudden realization if I don’t absorb it fully? Why practice self-reflection if I won’t accept what I come to know about myself? Why desire change in my life if I won’t actually go through the work? Why seek answers if I ask ...
Read MoreJune 10, 2018
eden’s lie
I was once asked what was the biggest lie I had ever told. The biggest lie I could ever tell. Was it to my parents about curfew or my child about where babies come from? Could it have been to a sibling about borrowing something I shouldn’t have? A scratch in the door of a new car, why a bill ...
Read MoreMay 8, 2018
words that rage on nothing
words that rage on nothing,C Streetlights
like smoke, your words consume the wind. blindly reaching out– grasping in desperation. like embers, your words pulse in insecurity. heat madly sparking– failing to ignite. like ash, your words cling to life’s dust. what once raged, is now forgotten– wasted fire on fire’s own insecurity.
May 6, 2018
Men and Stickers
Men and Stickers,C Streetlights
I’ll be honest, I think about stickers when I start seeing men crawling around women’s Twitter feeds with their “Not all men” replies in response to a woman’s very honest and vulnerable tweet about being sexually harassed. Surely, these are men who need to be given a sticker that reward them for not raping women. I honestly don’t give a ...
Read MoreMarch 24, 2018
It’s Not My Problem if You’re Insecure
It’s Not My Problem if You’re Insecure,C Streetlights
An insecure man stammered his way into my life last week. Like all insecure men, this one hid behind his computer screen and cell phone because he was too much of a coward to face a real person let alone anyone from my household. I use such a generalization because this particular individual has tried to antagonize me before. Some of ...
Read More
