Category: What Just Happened: Personal Anecdotes

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 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 Creative Writing, Mental Health, Reflection, Self-Care

Just a Poem I Wrote…

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

The Weight I Carry

For a long time,
I wondered why I compared myself to others so often—
both consciously and unconsciously—
questioning whether I was falling behind, and if I would ever catch up.

I would look around
and find myself alone—
the only one,
a spectator
watching as I could no longer see the silhouette
of those who seemed
so far ahead of me. I’m at the bottom of the hill.

I now realize and acknowledge:
this is what grief feels like for me. Something I’ve been carrying for a long, long time—
a weighted blanket
that’s become part of my body.
No one sees it,
but I feel it.

Today, I allow myself to feel sad.
It’s OK to feel sad today.
I give myself grace.
I don’t push my feelings aside,
or try to force positivity.
I feel my emotions—
and let them pass through.
They deserve space, too.

Posted in Confessions, Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Love, Reflection, Self-Talk, The Mighty

A Message to My Inner Teen

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Write a message to your teenage self about a lesson or truth you’ve learned that you didn’t know back then.

Something I find helpful for understanding the shame and grief I carry is writing messages, notes, and letters to my younger self — whether that’s my inner child or my inner teen. These are parts of me that endured so much and didn’t know how to cope with those intense experiences at the time.

Lately, I’ve been connecting with my inner teenager and allowing her to finally feel everything she wasn’t allowed to back then. I’ve noticed how angry, crushed, and betrayed she still feels from all the things she wished she could experience but couldn’t, and how much she wasn’t able to process or release because she didn’t understand what was happening.

Here is my message to her today:

Dear teen Nina,

It’s OK to feel every emotion coming up right now — anger, resentment, shame, frustration, betrayal. I know those feelings are scary for you. You don’t have to perform anymore or try to be perfect for everyone around you. It’s OK to make mistakes; that doesn’t make you a bad person. You deserve to be loved and accepted every day without having to do anything to earn it. You can move slowly and take your time — no one is pressuring you anymore. You are free to be your wonderful and beautiful self.

Oh, and one more thing: other people’s suffering or struggles are not your fault. You are not responsible for their emotions or reactions.

I love you, and I’m here whenever you need me.

— Adult Nina (sparklywartanks)

Also find this prompt in the No Shame group on The Mighty here.

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

2 Wins!

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks


1. I wouldn’t call these “business” cards since I don’t see what I do as a business. Instead, I’ve designed and ordered my new connection-to-community cards! Yay SparklyWarTanks! 🥰


2. I finally sat down to write in my journal. I didn’t expect to write so much, but I’m glad I could let go of everything I’d been holding in. I feel so much lighter now! 🌻

I did that! 😌