Life As I Know It

A heart attack is when blood vessels that supply blood to the heart are blocked, preventing enough oxygen from getting to the heart. Classic symptoms include sudden chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, sweating, and anxiety, along with fatigue. I had one at the age of 20. My heat stopped. My breath stopped. My thoughts stopped. My life stopped. And the sound of the machine read a flat line. Doctors scurried and nurses swung instruments and in matter of minutes electricity shook my body till a jolt finally woke me. After I felt weak and faint. I don’t remember being able to stay conscious. The next few days were a blur, just visions of a few seconds when I’d open my eyes and see a different family member or friend near my bedside. It was then I learned the truth in my grandmothers words Morir es facil. Vivir eso toma esfuerzo. Dying was easy, living was hard. Living takes guts, perseverance, strength, courage, and  determination. You can’t possibly know where y...

Her name was Arjumand Banu Begum when she would catch the eye of young prince Khurram in a way that would shape an entire empire’s history for all eternity. His name would change to “Shah Jahan” when he became the Mughal Emperor in the year 1628, after the death of his father Emperor Jahangir. The name “Shah Jahan” comes from Persian meaning “King of the World.” He called her Mumtaz Mahal, “jewel of the palace.” A Jewel he would lose when she experienced an untimely death while giving birth to their 14th child. Heartbroken, the emperor employed over 20,000 workers and 1000 elephants for two decades in order to build a fitting monument to the depth of their love. The Monument that is now known as The Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan, the king of the world, would later be imprisoned by his own son, with his only view through the barred window of his prison being that of the great monument to his long lost wife. Till this day it stands as a symbol of eternal love. Epic Love Stories. Now I...

 “I have been an intermezzo in his life…” I say biting my lip. And she nods because she understands. It’s her story. And her heart skips a beat, and a tear falls, and the sky in the darkest shade of gray agrees with a downpour of its own rain. And we sit and watch an old 1939 movie with a story that jumps from the screen. The story portrayed is that of a concert pianist and the affair he begins with his accompanist. A story so raw, of a love so meticulously built upon the unhappiness of others. Ingrid Bergman portrays Anita, a young, naïve soul, who falls in love desperately with out a care in the world. And Leslie Howard, as Holgar Brandt, a man so talented in his craft who cant resist putting everything on the line, even his family, to fall passionately and foolishly in love with someone else. Anita soon finds that living in the shadows of their love is not enough. That living in a far away place cut off from the world, or pretending that the past doesn’t exist, will not stop...