I came home after an eighteen-hour shift, every muscle in my body screaming for rest. The apartment was dark and quiet, the kind of quiet that should feel like relief. My feet throbbed. My head pounded. All I wanted was to collapse into bed and sleep for a few hours. I paused at my daughter’s bedroom door. Emily was five, tiny for her age, curled up on her side with her stuffed rabbit, Buttons, tucked under her chin. Her chest rose and fell slowly, rhythm steady. Her little face looked

I’m 18 years old, and I graduated from high school last week. People keep asking me, “So what’s next?”College? Work? Dreams? I smile, nod, and say something vague. But the truth is, I don’t know how to answer. It doesn’t feel like something new has started. It feels like something important ended too fast… and the world forgot to press play again. The school halls still smell like the cafeteria. Warm rolls. Cleaning spray. The same smell that clung to my clothes for years. Sometimes, when I wake up, I

My in-laws tried to quietly push my dad out of my wedding just because of his job. He’s a garbage collector. They said it was for “appearances.” I was trembling with anger, my hands clenched into fists, but my dad… he just calmly asked for the microphone. And the room never recovered from what he said. My name’s Anna, and the man who raised me, my dad Joe, has worked for the city for as long as I can remember. Sanitation department, garbage collection… whatever you call it, that’s been