The silk pink ribbons wrapped around my ankles. I stood with my shoulders down, one hand gently placed on the wooden barre at the studio. I tried to go fully onto the toe box of my pointe shoes, but my feet still hurt. The pain continued as I proceeded to follow the instructed steps. What should have been more simple felt impossible for my body. I was only seventeen, had already danced en pointe for over a year. Though turns and combinations in center I never could master. An

A lady approached me at Target. I was browsing the clothing sections, when I quietly heard "excuse me." coming nearby. I assumed she was trying to walk by, but that wasn't the case. I rarely go shopping. But, when I do, I usually have a list and know exactly what I'm looking forward. This is because of the severity of pain and fatigue I experience when walking. If I'm on my feet too long (even as little as ten minutes), I may not be able to do as much the next few days. But,

When I was nineteen, I participated in a research study on chronic pain and art.   It was conducted remotely through a university in California. The topic interested me as someone who lives with chronic pain and is passionate about the arts. From there, I sent a brief email to one of the students in the psychology department.  After some emails back and forth on scheduling, I had a short interview. This was one of the first times I shared openly about my CMT with someone that

“Why do you run on your tippy toes?” my cousin asked when we played soccer together as kids. It was a little weird, but we laughed about...