​Dear Cluster,

Last year, I celebrated ten years of writing. Yes, I’ve been on this journey a while. ​​I had written before 2011 but that year was when I became serious about honing my craft. I became passionate about publishing my writings and joined Figment (ha, Figment! I will always miss what you were).

It was on Figment that I compiled my first chapbook, my first novella, my first fan fiction collection. It was on Figment that I started Doctrine, my first full length manuscript and received my first critique.

So, you see why I start my count in 2011.
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​It was during my Figment era that I edited Doctrine, submitted it, and got my first few rejections. As Figment came to a close, so did the time I had to write but never my dedication. 

This post was about something else entirely but a lot happened in the past several weeks that made me want to talk about bullying. Bullying can be obvious and it can be subtle. It can be online or in the real world. It can be as simple as shoving someone or as insidious as ostracizing them or verbally abusing them. A word here and there is like a river, it will eventually erode a person’s self esteem if nothing is done to put an end to it. Persons in position of authority are either unaware it’s going on or often do not know how to handle it. The victims do not know whom to turn to.

​Left alone, bullying gets worse. Oftentimes, by the time it is addressed, the damage is already done.

Please, be aware this post contains sensitive subject matter which might be triggers to some readers.