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Words of Advice for Coping with Grief and Loss
To be human is to confront mortality, yet death is a profoundly unsettling prospect that few people accept with total peace. Some losses seem unfathomable — such as the death of a parent, child, or best friend — but it is beyond our control who Death takes; we can only allow ourselves the time and self-compassion to grieve as we are constantly propelled forward in time, into a future without the deceased. Bereavement is a topic that hits especially close to home for me. About a year after I graduated from university, when I was 23 years old, my mother suddenly and unexpectedly passed away from an acute health condition…
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Entering Auschwitz: Reflections on My Visit to a Nazi Concentration Camp
Please note: The following post contains detailed descriptions of torture, genocide, and other violent and heinous acts committed by the Nazis during the Holocaust. It was an emotionally taxing yet rewarding piece for me to compose, and some readers may find it disturbing. I would urge visitors to continue reading at their own discretion. Please also note that most of the factual information contained here was sourced from my two Auschwitz-Birkenau tour guides, informational plaques at the camps, and the official Auschwitz-Birkenau website. I’ll admit, it may seem a bit macabre to kick off the travel section of my blog with personal impressions of my visit to Auschwitz. But for…
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About My Mellow Brick Road
Welcome to My Mellow Brick Road, a personal blog for sharing ideas, observations, and memories on a variety of topics ranging from travel to psychology to literature to mini gardening/miniatures to love & relationships! Now for a little bit about myself and the purpose behind this blog… I was born and raised in Orange County, California and spent five years in the UK studying English literature. While my degrees are both in English, I studied psychology for three years as an undergrad. I’ve always had a keen interest in the human psyche and am planning to begin a master’s program in clinical psychology soon. Since my mother’s passing a few…
