Published in The Memoirist·PinnedMember-onlyMy Father Was a Rockstar — And an AssholeA story of addiction, abuse, and everything in between — My best friend sat on my unicorn canopy bed and listened as my dad loudly strummed his guitar. The amp made the walls of our tiny home vibrate until my head throbbed. Quiet time was a rare luxury at my house. “Wow. Your dad is so cool! Can I go…The Memoirist7 min readThe Memoirist7 min read
Published in Ascent Publication·PinnedMember-onlyMy Kids Don’t Know We’re PoorWe’ve made happy memories in the trailer park, and that’s what matters. — I’ve rented the same mobile home for the last 8 years. That means my younger kids have spent most of their childhood in a trailer park; my oldest, nearly half her life. …Life5 min readLife5 min read
Published in About Me Stories·PinnedMember-onlyAbout Me — Missy CrystalJumping on the bio bandwagon to share a bit about myself — Hello, and thanks for stopping by! I’m Missy, as you may have guessed by the title. I’ve spent the last couple years writing for Medium, but I’ve been a published writer since 2002. Gosh, I’m aging myself. My first piece was published in Teen Ink when I was a pregnant…About Me5 min readAbout Me5 min read
1 day agoMember-only100 Symptoms You May Experience After a ConcussionA concussion isn’t just a headache — Concussion recovery can be difficult. Many people limit screen time after a concussion, so I won’t make you read a long article about post-concussion problems. This is just a simple list. If you have questions about anything I’ve listed below, please leave a comment. I’ll do my best to help…Health3 min readHealth3 min read
Published in The Memoirist·4 days agoMember-onlyI Blocked a Guy on Words With Friends TodayIt’s a game app, not a dating app — The game was close. My opponent originally had a 67-point lead, but I don’t give up easily. I placed five tiles on the board, smiling as I made a 53-point word. A moment later, I received a notification from the chat box. Hmmm, I thought. Maybe my opponent is congratulating…Life5 min readLife5 min read
6 days agoMember-onlySend Me A Link to Your Book, Article, Poem, or EssayI love supporting other writers — Algorithms aren’t always reliable. TikTok usually shows me exactly what I want to see. Medium gets it right about half the time. Facebook showed me an ad featuring Cheez-Its on a woman’s feet after I mentioned buying cheese crackers for my son, so the Zuckster’s team needs to get it…Writer3 min readWriter3 min read
Mar 14Member-onlyMy Insomnia Was Awful Until I Discovered These 7 VideosTry them if you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep — My concussion destroyed my sleep schedule. Desperate for relief, I visited my neurologist. Propranolol — the med he claimed I’d love — made things worse. I started waking up every 20 to 30 minutes courtesy of my Propranolol. Turns out sleep disturbances are a common side effect associated with Propranolol…Health4 min readHealth4 min read
Published in The Memoirist·Mar 13Member-onlyI Accidentally Dropped My Ex’s Food in the TrashAccidentally on purpose, I mean — “Hey! Is Missy working tonight?” I recognized my ex’s voice as soon as he pulled up to the drive-thru box, but I remained silent. I was wearing a headset while I worked in the grill — our restaurant’s term for the kitchen — because it helped me finish orders faster…Life6 min readLife6 min read
Published in Age of Empathy·Mar 11Member-onlyPeople Can’t Always Make Time for You — It Doesn’t Mean They Don’t CareEveryone has their own stuff going on in life — “He’s been home from work for 30 minutes and still hasn’t answered my texts, yet he has time to update Facebook and share TikToks,” my friend complained. I was shocked by her anger. Did she not understand that people deserve some time to unwind after work? We shouldn’t confuse free…Nonfiction5 min readNonfiction5 min read
Published in Age of Empathy·Mar 10Member-onlyI Have 6,326 Stories on My Reading List — Thoughts on Digital HoardingMaybe I’ll finally read all the stories this year — I’m a digital hoarder. My iCloud has more than 50,000 photos. I recently had to pay for extra storage from Google because my inbox is clogged with more than 100,000 messages. My Pinterest is full of tasty recipes I’ll never make — mainly because I’ve forgotten they exist. I don’t…Life5 min readLife5 min read
