LeoLin Bowen

I am usually introduced to people as “the vegan.” I get it. Vegan is the new “it” word and now you are actually meeting one.

My son had just lost another tooth. When he looked up at me with his big, brown eyes and asked, “Mommy is the tooth fairy real?”

Be careful what you wish for because at eight years old my son is exactly like his father in this aspect. I'm now raising an outgoing kid and I'm reserved.

I am not the only one who is running on this hamster wheel of debt. In 2017 Americans had a revolving debt of $1,022 billion. So, dear debt, it's over!

I was a good girl from the start. Now I am speaking up, setting boundaries, saying no to the things I don’t want and yes to the things that I do.

What is different now is that I know who I am and what I want. I’m not afraid to be alone and living single. I value my time and my health.

I knew there was still a culture of fear surrounding black people, but this was the first time I had experienced a person scared of black people.

I call it the look. The slight tilt of the head confused look that people give me when they find out that I am the “weekend” parent.

I didn’t see similarities between my mother and I until years later, after I became a mother. The constant conflict hid how my mother and I are alike.