Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Love, Mental Health, Reflection, Self-Care, Self-Talk, What Just Happened: Personal Anecdotes

Reclaiming the Sacredness of My Birthday

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Today is my birthday, and for as long as I can remember, it has been a day filled with grief and depression. Every spring, the flowers would bloom, the sun would stay out longer, and the temperature would gradually rise from 30 to 40 to 50 degrees, yet the sadness would wash over me like a waterfall each year. I came to recognize this in a recent conversation with my therapist after a panic attack, which felt inevitable given the number of life changes my nervous system has been trying to process this year.

A birthday is meant to be a time to celebrate yourself, your life, and how far you have come. For me, though, intrusive and cruel thoughts would grow louder, like a speaker reminding me of all the ways I believed I had failed in becoming a “successful” adult. I would question whether I deserved to keep going, to keep living. This year, however, I want to reclaim the sacredness of my birthday. I want it to be a day to celebrate my life. I want it to be an “I am” day, not a “what have I done so far?” day or a “list all the reasons you are behind your peers” day.

In creating that sense of sacredness, I am building rituals and routines to remind my body and mind that I do deserve to be alive and to experience joy and excitement every day, especially on this day.

My first ritual this year is to write myself a letter, something I have done a few times before. Writing helps ground me in the “I am.” I know my SparklyWarTanks family understands that about me. So here it goes:

Dear Nina,

Happy birthday, precious girl. You are in your 30s, what a milestone. Instead of listing everything you have “done” to earn the right to celebrate yourself today, I am simply going to honor how amazing you are as a person. Your personality and who you are is something truly special. You are a bright and divine light in this world. You are meant to lead and to walk alongside those who share your vision of recovery, hope, and love. Keep your head up, because you are not only living for yourself, but also for your ancestors who are cheering you on along the way. You have broken numerous cycles and have chosen yourself. I am so proud of you. Keep going, because you deserve to live a life filled with unconditional self-love.

With all the love in the universe,
SparklyWarTanks

📷 Note: The image above is a self-portrait I created in a workshop last weekend. It reflects all the things that remind me of who I am.

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Reflection, The Mighty, The Pencil Case on The Mighty

Exploring Creativity: Share about a creative project that meant something to you.

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Share about a creative project that meant something to you.

We’re on post 3️⃣ of exploring how creativity shows up in our lives, our health, and our overall well-being.

Today, let’s talk about the impact of the creative process and the projects we’ve worked on or created that truly mean something to us.

💌 Gentle note: Feel free to share projects that are still a work in progress, ones that were started but not finished, ideas you have, completed pieces you’re proud of, gifts you’ve made for others or yourself, or ongoing passion projects.

If you look at the name of this blog, you’ll see SparklyWarTanks, but also the name I gave to a major shift in my awareness and health back in 2015. I was experiencing a mental health crisis, and while grappling with my sense of self in a writing class I was taking at the time, that name came to me.

I was pushing against the norms and expectations I grew up with and wanted to become something different. I felt like I was in a battle with myself—my mind and my place in the world.

SparklyWarTanks became the gentle, compassionate, yet bold part of me that fought back, spoke up, and chose herself.
It’s been 11 years since then, and I still use this blog as a safe space to talk about my health, growth, challenges, and progress. I’m proud of staying true to myself. SparklyWarTanks is me. 🌟

You can also find this post in The Pencil Case on The Mighty here.

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Reflection, Self-Care, Self-Talk

Exploring Creativity: How do you use creativity to support your health?

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

How do you use creativity to support your health needs?

Hi friends! ⭐

Let’s continue this reflection series by exploring how creativity shows up in our lives.

Growing up, I loved to write, but it was mostly something I did for school rather than as a hobby. Reading and writing were always my favorite subjects. Even though I was often criticized for not knowing “proper” grammar, I still found joy in expressing myself through words. I also majored in vocal performance in middle and high school and joined a choir in college. Creativity was always orbiting me in some shape or form.

It wasn’t until college and beyond that I began actively using art, writing, personal storytelling, and public speaking as grounding tools—to improve my mood, reflect on my symptoms, and build community.

What are some ways you use creativity in your health journey? How does creativity support you or your symptoms? What creative practices help you cope or care for yourself?

You can also find this post in The Pencil Case on The Mighty here.

Posted in Love, Mental Health

Read This If You Live With a Mental Health Condition, Like Me 💌

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Living with a mental health condition can mean that some days feel incredibly heavy—confusing, disorienting, and overwhelming. It can feel like your body isn’t yours, your mind is somewhere else, and you’re disconnected, caught in a never-ending falling sensation with darkness all around. But when that relief comes (because it will), it becomes one of the most cherished and gratitude-filled feelings you’ll ever experience. It’s reassurance that the waves don’t always have to plunge that deep into a dark, cold ocean.

If you live with a mental health condition like I do, know that we deserve those moments of peace and relief.

I love you. ♥️

–SparklyWarTanks

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Reflection, Self-Care, The Pencil Case on The Mighty

Exploring Creativity: What does creativity mean to you?

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

What does creativity mean to you?

It’s a new year, and one of the words I want to guide me this year is creativity—because of how important it is to me. I want to talk more about it, explore it together, and learn how others experience creativity in their own lives.

For me, creativity is who I am. It’s how I get to know myself—my consciousness, my imagination, the way I connect to my intuition, and how I understand and navigate the world in my body. I see creativity everywhere.

What are your thoughts? What does creativity mean to you?

You can also find this post in The Pencil Case on The Mighty here.

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Reflection, Self-Care

Moving On: 2025 Closing Thoughts

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

What’s something you’re moving on from?

Reaching December always stirs up a lot of thoughts for me. As I write this, I’m imagining myself sitting under the moonlight with the year’s lessons rolling past me like movie credits. One thing that keeps coming up is what I want to move on from.

I want to move on from the version of me that holds too tightly to experiences that hurt. I’m ready to let them go now. I want to learn what I need to learn — and then let go just as gracefully.

What’s something you want to move on from or let go of?

You can also find this post on The Mighty here.

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Reflection, Self-Care, The Mighty

A Poem About a Core Memory: The Tears That Shaped Me

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Write a free verse reflection poem about a core memory.

A “core memory” (a phrase popularized in part by the 2015 movie Inside Out) is a significant moment or experience that stays with you and shapes you in some way. Core memories often connect to strong emotions — joy, fear, love, embarrassment, pride, belonging — and become experiences you can recall clearly even years later. They might be impactful conversations, milestones, turning points, once-in-a-lifetime adventures, difficult truths, important relationships, “firsts,” flashes of clarity, or life lessons.

Here is my poem:

The Tears that Shaped Me

The hallway glowed a bright yellow.
It was dark outside,
and I carried a faint excitement
that maybe it would be a good night for me.

My long dress — my favorite color — that exact shade of sky blue you see at noon on a cloudless June day with a soft, warm breeze.

Only then did I realize
I had no idea how to move in this space, how to belong here.

I walked into the lunchroom,
strange and unfamiliar in its new arrangement.
I missed my mom the moment she slipped away, leaving as quickly as she arrived.

Two hours, then three.
I watched, a puzzle piece that didn’t fit, a quiet spectator taking notes, seeing everything through a microscope.

I wasn’t “picked” that night.
Invisible.

A dance — a tiny stamp of approval — was nowhere for me.
This chapter of my life ended right then, ushering in a transition I didn’t ask for.

Was I even there?
Did it even happen?

Tears soaked the dress
until it became its own rainy day.
My chest tightened.
Regret and sadness painted my heart in black, burgundy, and navy blue. The sunny June afternoon turned into a December midnight storm —
cold and unwelcoming.

The unchosen.
A title I still carry,
a backpack glued to my shoulders.

Share your poem below. 📜

You can also find this post in the Mighty Poets group on The Mighty here.

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Self-Care, Self-Talk, The Mighty, The Pencil Case on The Mighty

What are your hopes for the end of 2025?

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

What are your hopes for the end of 2025?

This year has felt like the longest yet shortest one ever. There have been so many ups, downs, uncertainties, moments of clarity, and uncomfortable changes, but also steady progress nonetheless.

When the year began, I didn’t know what to expect, and honestly, my hopes were few. But as 2025 comes to a close, I’m ending it with hopes for more confidence and compassion toward myself. I want to create more space for love and connection. I want to be more patient and continue to redefine what success and growth mean to me.

I hope to stay grounded and present, more aware of what’s happening around me. I want to embrace empathy, giving others space to use their voices too. And I want to experience more peace because I deserve it.

What hopes do you have as the year closes? What goals do you want to reach, experiences do you want to have, or things will you make time for?

You can also find this post in The Pencil Case on The Mighty here.