journey of an adult educator

I am a human lie detector. I am neither a trained behavior analyst, nor have I done extensive research in kinesics, rather even the tiniest fib will trigger an electrical wave in my brain that lights up my visual cortex like the 4th of July. As a result, I experience something akin to one of those glowing visual auras associated with a migraine, only in a short-lived, highly concentrated burst. (Think “glitter bomb” but without the mess.) I have been this way for as long as I can remember, but I did not start to piece together the significance of the glitter bombs until I was about five-years-old. My big brother glowed more than any other person I knew. This kid was in a perpetual state of sparkle, and one day I decided I just had to know why. I channeled my inner Harriet the Spy, and observed his every move for two whole days before I made the connection. He lied constantly, to everyone, about the most mundane things (e.g., saying he had Frosted Flakes for breakfas...

"That is so cool! Your parents got you the whole set?!" I asked her. "Yeah, they said it was cause I've been so brave lately. I'd never seen my dad cry either, it was weird." She paused for a moment. Just for a moment though, Kris is always so quick to get back to fun things. "Hey Em, let's build them into the two giant ones!" She beamed. My friend Kris has been sick lately. At least that's what her parents said. She sleeps a lot, but apart from that she seems the same to me. Her parents aren't as funny as they were before she became ill. Daniel, her brother, is the same though. He's a couple years younger and so annoying. Despite all that, I was excited. We were finally having a sleepover like normal! We hadn't had one for months. Probably not since my 10th birthday. Their new house is so cool looking. Kris' bedroom is up two sets of stairs, which are all super creaky, by the way. It's a really old h...

Walking, slowly, surely softly Every step with difficulty One more breath One more day Back in bed to sleep away... Moving forward hardly walking Every day with difficulty One more face Another gesture Fake another try at pleasure Day by day I stay awake Your time to talk not mine to take I'll keep it in And weigh me down So much weight I'll surely drown Stopping, dropping, can't keep walking Another step leaves people gawking I can't go on It's now November Goodbye my dear, hope you remember.