I Am Not April's Fool
We live in a world that marks certain days as sacred. We honor birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, national tragedies, spiritual celebrations. There are days we collectively hold close. And then there are the days that become sacred to us , personally. Days that shifted our lives deeply. The world may not know it, but we remember. April 1st is one of those days for me. Most people associate it with jokes, pranks, and foolery.... April Fool’s Day. But for me, it’s the day my life hit a standstill. On April 1st, 2018, I was shot in the chest during an attempted armed robbery. The bullet paralyzed my arm. I was a hairstylist at the time. My hands were my livelihood. My creative expression. My freedom. My survival. And in an instant, tall of that was taken from me. What followed was a long, painful, and isolating season. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually. But it also became one of the most profound seasons of my life. I met parts of myself I didn’t know existed. I was...
