Starting Again: Hello

Hello, readers. I've moved my previous blog to this one, and will be make a more concerted effort to write here. A lot has happened since I last wrote (I've graduated college, America has a new President, and I've gotten addicted to This Is Us).

Why am I writing? When I became chronically ill five years ago, I had so many questions:

"Why is this happening?"

"Does anyone else feel like this?"

"Will I ever be okay again?"

Connecting with people when you have chronic illness is hard, especially when so many of us with various conditions have difficulties with fatigue. Do I really think it's a good idea to go out to a neighborhood cookout when it's 90+ degrees and this chick has a heat intolerance?

No. No, I do not.

It should be said that I'm not a doctor, nor am I an expert on conditions that are not my own. There are days when I am lying in bed, still in my pajamas at 1pm—days like today—or when I want to pound my head against a desk when I have to call my elected officials again about not taking away my healthcare, because, hello, I want to be able to function as best I can.

All this to say, there will be good days and bad days. It's easy to forget about good days when you're in pain in the middle of the night, and on those good days, it's tempting to worry about what, if anything, will set you off into a flare. Know when you're out of spoons and you feel drained, you don't have to be isolated. There is a community of other people waiting to embrace you and say, "Me, too."

Know you're not alone.