publishing peace

September. Beginning of fall. The sweaters come out, scarves are unpacked, hot chocolate purchases skyrocket. The leaves start to change and the air almost tastes different. I love September for many reasons, but that vibrant feeling, the crispness in your lungs from that sharp air just makes me feel like something good is coming. For some people, though, September is the beginning of a different season. For some people, September is when they remember the pain of the wintertime. For some people, September is kind of like standing on the edge of a cliff with not much of a ledge. September can be terrifying. September is the beginning of "down" season for many people who experience mental health issues. That's 1 in 4 people in the country, by the way. And also, 90% of those men & women who take their own lives have significant diagnosable mental health issues at the time of their death. For that reason, September is also suicide awareness and prevention m

I'm not perfect, y'all. Shocker, right? No, for real. I'm super not perfect. Let me tell you a little story. I'm currently experiencing the aftermath of this here bad idea, and it still hurts. Let's begin. My family hiked Mount Timpanogos this past weekend. It was a thrill, for sure. I don't know what my favorite part was - getting delayed by a family of moose for 15 minutes, signing the book at the shack on the top of the summit, crawling over rocks because I'm terrified of heights, it was an adventure. But that's not what I'm talking about. No, I'm talking about my sunburn. You see, it was chilly, and so I was deceived. I didn't think it would be that bad. So when my mom reminded us all to put on sun screen, I just put a little on my cheeks and trusted that maybe I'd get a little color, finally putting to rest my little brothers making fun of me because they're redheads and still have darker skin than me. Well,