Through stories we transcend.

“It’s very important to transcend the places that hold us.”
~ Rubin Carter in “The Hurricane”


The air is weighted with disappointment, fear, anger. You walk around in a daze, watch ridiculous shows on TV, flare up in anger at the slightest setback. You could stay in that corner, grow silent, be polite. (But you have been polite long enough.) What holds you back from speaking your mind? What stops you from telling your story? It’s one thing, it’s a million. It’s the pounding of your heart in the face of a stranger, your arms frozen at your side. It’s the pull at the back of your head and the voice inside that says, whatever you write down will not be enough. It’s the fear of being vulnerable. Will they listen? Does it matter?

Yes. You are not alone. Our stories connect us. Those connections carry us forward. Speak up, in person or on the page. How else will we transcend?

transcend: girl jumping into water

About Christi Craig

Christi Craig is a native Texan living in Wisconsin, working by day as a sign language interpreter and moonlighting as a writer, teacher, and editor. Her stories and essays have appeared online and in print, and she received an Honorable Mention in Glimmer Train's Family Matters Contest, 2010. You can send comments or questions via her contact page.
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