Fragments | I Can't Breathe Under Here

We are all born into frameworks and ways of being.

It just so happened that mine was restricting not only my individuality, but the very breath inside me.

A suffocating weight layered in verses, unspoken rules, raised hands, altar calls, undiagnosed and overlooked mental illnesses, prayers and attendance expectations.

The ’90s evangelical purity culture gave me the rule book, the Bible gave me the expectations, and the family tree gave me the coping mechanisms.

A corset was made to keep one tight, upright and in place.

Until the moment one dared to loosen the strings and discovered just how restricted one was.

But breath has a way of breaking through.

In my memoir, I’m exploring how I found mine.