I’m lost
I constantly feel lost in the barren desert of Hawthorne. When I lived in Colorado, I always felt like I had potential. Here, I feel like the potential is almost non-existent because people seem to like it that way. They are perfectly okay with everything always being as it was and should always be. I […]
Path to Authorship
Path to AuthorshipI have set a personal goal to create a workbook designed to support children in the foster system. The workbook will focus on offering guidance and practical tools to help them navigate their unique challenges. Reflecting on my experiences over the past two years, I realize that, against all odds, I was able […]
The System
The Unspoken Rules of Rural LifeRural living in Nevada operates under a set of unspoken rules that everyone is expected to follow, often to the detriment of progress. These rules are not based on any objective criteria, but rather on arbitrary standards established by self-appointed community leaders. These leaders set the tone for the community, […]
The Illusion of Temporary
Arriving in Hawthorne: Expectations vs. RealityWhen I moved to Hawthorne, I was convinced it would be a short-term stop—a brief interlude before moving on to something better. The opportunity was presented as a steppingstone, a means of forging a path forward. I reassured myself that the experience would be manageable and not as challenging as […]
Hawthorne
Mineral County is isolation in its purest form. There is no true city center, no municipal heartbeat—only scattered infrastructure holding together a place that feels suspended in time. If it were not so sobering, it might qualify as a museum exhibit of rural America. It does not take long to sense that the isolation is […]
The Parking Lot: Navigating Stagnation and Renewal
The Parking Lot as a MetaphorThe parking lot symbolizes those times in life when a person loses their sense of direction. Many people experience moments where they feel stuck, as if stalled in a mental concrete jungle. For me, this sense of stagnation has always been intertwined with my perception of Nevada. Growing Up in […]
If there were a biography about you, what would the title be?
Years ago, I came across a phrase that stayed with me: “Stalled Dreams in a Vacant Parking Lot.” It feels like the perfect description of the last decade of my life, the years I’ve spent feeling stranded in Hawthorne. I think I’m slowly learning how to live here, but for a long time it felt […]
Three Weeks without Smoking
I have managed to make it three weeks now without smoking. It is not a feat that I would’ve foreseen when I started out. I have been a smoker for a couple decades with glee. There are things I miss and things I do not miss. I miss the ritual of it. I never realized […]