Ellie@Home by Nicole Kapise-Perkins

This is the mask. My mask. It hides my scars: The scared girl I was. The scared woman I am. The seeker that never finds what she is looking for and wonders if she is even worthy to know. This is the mask. My mask. It lets me pretend It lets me believe It lets me feel strong, look strong, be strong. Until I take it off. Visit Amazon.com and walk with me, hear my thoughts, my wants, my wishes and my worries. Walk with me, and let me share my world with you. https://www.amazon.com/This-Mask-Nicole-Kapise-Perkins-ebook/dp/B086JF21S6/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=this+is+the+mask&qid=1585578663&s=digital-text&sr=1-3

   March 1. I am six weeks away from graduation; six weeks from the end of my official studies of creative writing. In six weeks I can go back to writing what I want to write every day--sometimes pages and pages of story drafts, sometimes just snippets of ideas. I miss reading in the evenings (okay, reading iteresting things in the evenings) and cooking dinner. Josh has been the most amazing partner through this crazy college journey--I could not have done any of this without him (Husband, you are my hero).    Will I be done studying in April? No, of course not. There is always an opportunity to learn, and for all writers and artists, even masters, there is always room for improvement. Practice makes perfect, after all, and every artist and writer will tell you that they practice their craft every day. (Unless you are a creative writing student still in college. I haven't done anything creative in a couple months now. Except this. It's making me a little crazy.)    As I writ