Author: Nia Ita

This weekend marks the start of a new month. I love new beginnings. They feel like a fresh page in a journal, full of endless possibilities. While I did a decent job of caring for my physical body in May and June, I fell off the wagon a bit this July (a little too much [...]

These past few months have legitimately felt like living through an episode of Black Mirror. The violence, negligence + lack of empathy we've witnessed from elected officials all the way to local leaders like public educators has been heartbreaking. Every time I read a post about how people "don't see color" my heart sinks a [...]

"The same way there is a BC and an AC (before Christ and after Christ), there will be a BP and an AP. Before the Pandemic and After the Pandemic." As I balance my cell phone against a wall in the kitchen and leave floured fingerprints on the screen, Papi uses his long arms to [...]

AKA Re(view) + (Re)flection on The Gifts of Imperfection In Brene Brown’s “The Gifts of Imperfection” she often refers back to her 2007 B̶r̶e̶a̶k̶d̶o̶w̶n̶ Spiritual Awakening. I experienced something similar in 2017 when I started therapy and participated in the #52essays2017 challenge. I can’t help but feel like our world is going through a 2020 [...]

This time of year can be hard for me. It is a pattern I was able to detect through therapy. I don't do well when the dark and cold falls over the city like a weighted shadow. I don't have a Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) diagnosis or anything, but I have noted more moments of [...]

Everyone I know is tired. My friends and family and complete strangers that don't even notice I walk by them are overwhelmed and overstimulated. I have fallen victim to it as well. The tiredness. Like a plague over this city. The exhaustion is bone-deep and spirit-bound. It worsens when I watch the news that reminds [...]

A few months ago, I pitched an author Q&A to a well-known publication that had been asking me to send them some literary content. In March of 2019, they responded that they were passing on the idea because they prefer to cover upcoming or recent books. The debut collection of poetry and winner of the [...]

Stop 1: Brooklyn Bridge The first half of the route is all up-hill. No matter how hard I peddle, my pace is slow and labored. I am breathing hard and fighting the voice in my head, the Resistance that matches the incline of the bridge. At the half-way point, Papi and I both stop for [...]

I was excited when I found the Intervarsity Press table at Book Expo this year. I don’t recall ever seeing such a large selection of faith-based books that talk about equity, race and social justice. Still, I dampened my excitement and managed expectations because I’ve often found myself disappointed with Christian literature and how even [...]

It’s been eighteen years since the Memorial Day weekend when I fractured a bone in my right foot. It's a funny story that ends with Mami not believing I was hurt as bad as I was. She hard-tissue massaged vaporú onto my injured foot and then helped me squeeze a swollen, purplish limb into my [...]