“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” Kahlil Gibran Let’s talk about art and suffering. The archetype of the tortured artist has probably existed for as long as art itself. The idea that a person’s pain accelerates their artistic potential, or makes their art more significant, is one that seems to persist in creative communities. In some contexts, this could be

When I was young, I had a condition that made it difficult for me to speak in a normal register. I would often speak in either a high pitched tone or a low, frog-like voice, and it took time for me to learn how to adjust the way that I spoke so that others could understand. Having to work to be understood granted me a lot of the empathy and

As another season of Dancing With The Stars (“DWTS”) begins, and as I prepare to set foot in the ballroom and take my seat at the judges’ panel, I take a moment to center myself and to check in with where I am mentally, and emotionally.   I truly feel that it is an honor to be a judge on this show, to be given a voice and a tremendous platform to speak from. Such an opportunity is not something I