I refuse to believe that our future will be one of grievance. In fact, anger has never felt so powerful.

My gaze shifts to every corner, every angle, and every meter, as I breathe heavily, feeling suffocated. This place no longer resembles what I remember it to be.

Everyone in New York has biceps ≠ Every New Yorker has biceps.

And now you do too.

“Why does everyone like the fire drill so much?” I asked.

She looked at me, smiling happily, and she continued to rock side to side. “When the bombs fall, there is no warning.”

I have a condition referred to as functional neurological disorder (FND). Upon its onset some years ago, while I was a full-time acrobatic circus student training 4-8 hours a day, 5 days a week, it functionally ruined my life. It is a type of dissociative disorder that manifests through physical symptoms similar to epileptic seizures.