Out of Place – Katelyn’s Story Since the fall of 2016, I have been extensively traveling. At 27 years old, with the ink barely dry on my master’s degree, I quit my full-time job to spend time living in unfamiliar places. Don’t worry–it wasn’t nearly as glamorous as it sounds. And since we’re all friends […]
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Out of Place – Kate’s Story The white tile floor cooled down my skin. My body was flushed and warm to the touch because I’d spent the last twenty minutes crying on that same bathroom floor. The tears, the anguish of overwhelming doubt — they had become my nightly routine. Every night, I lay in […]
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Out of Place – Elise’s Story It was the fall of 2012. I was attending Allume, a blogging/writing conference. I was so excited! Blogging was still newish, along with online magazines, contributor websites and the like. My friend Kimberly Amici and I had recently started CirclesOfFaith.org – Where Life, Faith, and Community Intersect. Our site […]
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It was a Wednesday, and I was hiding in the church kitchen, eating mint chip ice cream from a paper bowl. The giant tub was halfway gone, and the Post-It on the lid said, “Youth Group.” Since I’m on staff as an assistant to our youth ministry, I felt justified in helping myself to three […]
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Last week, I joined the boys in the pond – a welcome relief from the heat and humidity. We splashed around, they climbed me like a jungle gym, they begged me to throw them into the water. When I got tired, I climbed onto the floating dock. I untied the yellow rope from the post […]
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When we moved to France when I was seven, my mom discovered that peanut butter was an American product. She searched high and low in every grocery store, determined to find that quick and easy lunch spread. One day, she came home with a tin can: she had finally found peanut butter in a specialty […]
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Every time I see the mosaic sculptures at Waterfront Park in downtown San Diego, I’m impressed. By no means are they the most awe-inspiring examples of this ancient art form, but I love the intricate pop of color they provide, set against the gray buildings of downtown. Mosaic art dates back to centuries before Christ […]
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Out of Place Series – Brooke’s Story We have all heard the saying, “like a square peg in a round hole.” I always imagine one of those toy buckets with all the shaped pegs and the lid that has the same shape holes in the top. You know the one. Each time I hear this, […]
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The first time I confronted my own racism was at the dollar store. I was in the checkout line, emptying the contents of my basket on the conveyor belt. Standing in front of me was a black mom, a little younger than me, holding her toddler. In the checkout line right next to mine, a […]
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Our identities aren’t forged in a vacuum. Each and every one of us has an origin story — a narrative that explains how and why we became the person we are today. Not just for superheroes Spiderman didn’t become a superhero overnight. The radioactive spider bite was sudden and unexpected, but Peter Parker didn’t instantly become a […]
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Sarah K. Butterfield 