Author: lifeafterdoorkicking
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Why I write
I was never the type who loved writing in school. Essays felt stiff. Book reports were a chore. But even back then, I was writing—just not the kind they asked for. I wrote lyrics. Rhymes scribbled in spiral notebooks, verses built in my head while walking alone, staring at ceilings, or laying in the dark.…
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Tend the Trees, Save the Forest: Why Local Politics Matters More Than You Think
Every four years, America holds its collective breath. Red and blue maps flood every screen. Cable news runs 24/7. Social media turns into a battlefield of memes and outrage. All eyes lock onto the national stage, and we act like the presidency alone will make or break our lives. But while we argue over the…
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Fighting for Routine: Discipline in the Middle of Recovery
Recovery Doesn’t Come With a Roadmap Recovery doesn’t come with a roadmap—especially when the body you’re trying to reclaim doesn’t move the same way it used to. After my spinal fusion, I wanted nothing more than to get back to rolling, lifting, and running—back to what once made me feel strong. But I knew I…
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The rebel, the pervert, the gentleman and the philosopher.
How would you describe yourself to someone? Well, I’ve got a shirt that does a pretty damn good job: Gentleman. Philosopher. Pervert. Rebel. I’m a gentleman thanks to my mom. She raised me solo in the ’90s, doing her best to keep me grounded while juggling everything life threw her way—some job changes, a few…
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Shatter assumptions
Throughout my life, people have made assumptions about me. Some were off-base, reflections of their own projections. Others? I can’t deny—I planted them myself, deliberately, with a kind of quiet calculation. There’s something undeniably powerful in shaping the narrative before others can write it for you. In this way, I’ve used misdirection not unlike a…
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Burned out not broken.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here.The truth is, I’ve been in the middle of rebuilding—not just my body, but my routines, my mindset, and my connection to the people who matter most to me. After my accident, recovery took priority. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too. I had to figure…
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That day…
That day was fucked.I’m not even sure who I’m supposed to be mad at anymore — some pissed-off local, the Taliban, or maybe the Russians who might’ve dumped it all 20 years before. At this point, who knows? And honestly, it probably doesn’t matter. We just left the country again, barely any better off than…
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Poem in the am
If I died today who would mourn If I side hopped would it storm If my heart stopped peace be born Though at first it may look like pain After the worst you will see gain Know our course would see us change Loves a sport but we’re in flames When the resort is to…
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Illusions
We had the best of times I keep that in mind When I look for the signs A mirage I can find It never fails to shine Even in the deepest mine Or this prison of my mind Through this prism I’m blind Hard to go on without what I’m
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Life after door kicking. 