Mary Caroline Whims

I am worthy of good things. I accept myself for who I am. I deserve to be kind to myself. It was January of 2022. I sat cross-legged on the floor of my room, headphones on, listening to a calm female voice repeating positive affirmations. “Listen to these, and then repeat them as you feel…

About a year ago, I put up a picture of Mary in my room. It’s a print of Botticelli’s “Mary with the Child and Singing Angels.” In the image, the young mother gazes at the viewer with a gentle tilt of her head. The smooth outlines of her cheeks reveal her youth, but there’s dignity…

When I saw the blood pouring from my right index finger, I wasn’t surprised.  It had been another early morning at the deli where I worked slicing meat on my summers home from college. I’d awoken after a poor night of sleep, stretched, and immediately thought: I’m going to cut myself at work today. It…

“And even though all other animalsLean forward and look down toward the ground,He gave to man a face that is uplifted And ordered him to stand erect and look Directly up into the vaulted heavens And turn his countenance to meet the stars…”                   —Ovid, Metamorphoses I : 118-123 We were made…

Strictly speaking, dance is unnecessary. In a world driven by natural selection, dance doesn’t feed you or clothe you or shelter you. Depending on your skills or lake thereof, it might not even help you attract a mate. You can easily live your entire life without ever dancing. You can go to your friends’ weddings…

I’ll always remember the first day I stepped into Dr. Condict’s classroom. Honey-colored wooden desks were set out in a “U” shape with the teacher’s desk in the center. In the corner stood a large model of the medieval Rota Fortuna, or Wheel of Fortune. But the first thing I noticed was the walls. Almost…

Swarms of people hustle down the sidewalks toward the looming voluntary torture machine they’ve christened The Bat. It’s my first roller coaster, so I feel my breath speeding up as I climb into the seat and feel the restraint click around my shoulders. My feet dangle above the platform. In a moment, they’ll be dangling…