Life after door kicking.

Category: Random Musings

  • Learning to rebel against yourself.

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    When I was young, Tupac felt like the deepest philosopher alive. He shaped the way I saw injustice and what we owe each other. Back then, I honestly believed the purpose of government was simple: help the people who can’t help themselves. Universal healthcare? Seemed like a no-brainer.Housing the homeless? I still think that one…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Two Wars, One Generation: Why Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans Deserve Proper Recognition

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    For more than twenty years, American service members fought across two completely different battlefields: Afghanistan and Iraq. A lot of us — myself included — served in both. But the way our awards are structured, you’d think those deployments were all part of one single conflict. Anyone who actually fought in them knows that’s not…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Season’s Greetings from Life After Door Kicking

    Merry Christmas and happy new year. If you celebrate something else I hope that goes well for you.This year reminded me that survival isn’t the same as living—and that clarity usually shows up after the noise fades.To everyone still sorting through the wreckage of bad systems, bad years, bad decisions, or inherited lies: you’re not…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • No, You Don’t Have to Force December

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    I get the desire for cheer in December. I really do. The winter solstice gives us the shortest day of the year. The world tilts and shrinks the light. Things go gray. Cold sets in. It’s only natural we’d want to fight that back—with lights, with laughter, with plans, with cheer.We’re not wrong to want…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • The Cost of Isolation: Six Lives That Prove We’re Meant to Be With People

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    And Why I Still Fight the Urge to Pull Away Isolation is tempting. Quiet. Predictable. Controlled. I battle with the urge to isolate. There are days when even stepping into a party, a store, or a casual conversation feels draining, like the world is tapping a vein and taking what I’ve got left. Sometimes it’s…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Two tales one city

    Do you have a favorite place you have visited? Where is it? Picking a “favorite” place isn’t easy. You’d think I’d say Las Vegas since I grew up there, but that’s home, not a getaway. I’ve taken a few California trips, and I’ve technically “been” to Germany and Ireland—if airport terminals count as cultural experiences.…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • The Luxury of Forgetting: How Comfort Has Made Us Fragile

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    Before we dive in, let me set the scene: I had a whole December lineup planned—light, festive, easy reading. Been ready since Halloween; I had the idea right after doing true crime for October, just to keep things cozy and low-key and avoid bumping into politics or mental-health vibes this month. Then the lineup disappeared.…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Speaking extemporaneously

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    This is something I didn’t write so much as find —the pen just moved, and I followed.Sometimes the mind drags you through chaosjust to remind you what clarity costs.These words came from that place. — Sometimes this dream feels like a nightmareIntrusive like a sledge, like I’m having night terrors,and I just can’t back up…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Measured in Exhales

    Feeling different than all my peers in this,Struggles of a left-handed lyricist,Smudges on my fist from dragging it,Even worse when I was gripping it. Audacity to worship myself — intrinsic,But a little introspection shows that’s illogic,Blessings of a curse — I’m gifted,Writing backwards in my notebooksso this spiral isn’t on my wrist. I was never…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking