Haleigh

**New poem added to *The Weight We Carry*: “Who Approved This Plotline”**
          
          Apparently life looked at my carefully constructed plans and said, “Cute. Anyway.”
          
          This newest poem is a very real snapshot of where life is at right now: graduating in less than two weeks, preparing for Kentucky, going back to school (because apparently one degree wasn’t enough), substitute teaching, planning for a whole new path in secondary social studies, finally getting my car fixed after it spent two months in decorative lawn ornament mode, reconnecting with family, and trying to process all the random plot twists life keeps throwing at me.
          
          It’s chaotic, sarcastic, mildly unhinged, and painfully honest.
          
          Basically: if your life also feels like it’s being written by a sleep-deprived writer with commitment issues, this one’s for you.
          
          Thank you for continuing to read, support, and grow with this collection. Every poem in *The Weight We Carry* captures a different season of surviving, rebuilding, and figuring it out in real time.
          
          Go give it a read.

please check out my book!

Go read my newest story pls 

I posted a new poem 
          
          It’s called “Side Quests Still Count.” ️
          
          Short version:
          Yes, I graduated 
          Yes, I’m going back to school 
          Yes, it’s an associate’s after a bachelor’s
          No, I’m not confused 
          
          This poem is about plans changing (again), doing things out of order, choosing the option that actually works instead of the one that looks impressive, and accepting that progress doesn’t always look like a straight line — sometimes it looks like a detour with better math 
          
          It’s not motivational.
          It’s not a comeback story.
          It’s just honest.
          
          If you’ve ever taken a “nontraditional path” because the traditional one didn’t come with financial stability or peace of mind, this one’s for you.
          
          Side quests still count 
          I will not be taking questions at this time

New Poem Added to The Weight We Carry
          
          I just added a new slam poem to my collection, The Weight We Carry.
          
          Helping Is My Personality, Now With a Syllabus is about going back to school for social work while already holding an Elementary Education degree, working every job that doesn’t involve a grill, and still running the Chaos Closet because caring has always been my default setting.
          
          I’ll be doing school full-time — some classes in person, some online — because balance has never really been my thing.
          
          This piece is raw, sarcastic, and honest about what it takes to turn empathy into purpose rather than burnout. It’s about seeing the cracks in the system, refusing to unsee them, and choosing to show up anyway — with textbooks in one hand and community care in the other.
          
          Read it now in The Weight We Carry:
          Helping Is My Personality, Now With a Syllabus
          
          If helping feels less like a choice and more like who you are,
          If you’ve ever been told you care “too much,”
          or if your calling comes with a syllabus and zero chill —
          this one’s for you.

 UPDATE ANNOUNCEMENT!
          ✨ THE SILENT THREAD IS NOW FULLY UPDATED & COMPLETE! ✨
          
          After months of plot twists, late-night writing sessions, character breakdowns (and maybe a few of my own ), The Silent Thread is officially finished and fully updated!
          Every chapter is polished, revised, and ready for binge-reading. ✅
          
          ✅ Final chapters updated
          ✅ Plot holes filled
          ✅ Emotional damage delivered
          ✅ Cliffhangers resolved… (mostly )
          
          Thank you to everyone who read along, commented, voted, or patiently waited for chapters while life got chaotic. Your support kept this story alive, and I couldn’t be more grateful. 
          
          If you haven’t started yet, now is the perfect time—no more waiting for updates!
          If you’re already a reader… just know I left the ending slightly cracked open ️
          In case the darkness wants a sequel.
          
           Start binge-reading: The Silent Thread
           Let me know your favorite chapter, ship, or plot twist!
          
          Thank you for being a part of this story.
          — Haleigh ✒️

✨ Life Update: Unpacking Myself ✨
          
          Lately, everything feels like it’s shifting.
          New walls. New routines. New version of me trying to find her footing.
          
          I moved in with David and his family — and I’m grateful beyond words. They’ve opened their home and hearts to me, and it’s a kind of peace I’m still learning how to accept. But if I’m being honest… change, even the good kind, can feel loud. The quiet feels strange after years of chaos. I keep wanting to clean, organize, do something — anything — because sitting still makes my brain buzz.
          
          Some nights I feel like I don’t belong anywhere. Other nights, I look at David and realize maybe I’m finally where I’m supposed to be. 
          
          I wrote this slam piece called “Unpacking Myself” about what it feels like to leave behind a version of your life that wasn’t working — and step into one that might. It’s about learning to breathe again, to make space for stillness, and to believe that maybe home isn’t a place… maybe it’s a person.
          
          Here’s my favorite part:
          
          “The silence here feels heavier than the chaos I left.
          But if home is where healing happens,
          then maybe—just maybe—
          I’m home.”
          
          I’m still unpacking.
          Still learning.
          Still healing.
          But I’m here. 

Hi!! I'd love to know your opinion on my poetry collection!!

Hello how are you doing 

 Teaching Stuffed Animals 101 — Now in Session! 
          
          Some people teach students.
          I teach stuffed animals. 
          
          Thirty-plus classes later, and my most loyal learners are a teddy bear named Henry and a rabbit who hasn’t blinked since March.
          No discussion boards, no group work — just me, my camera, and a pretend classroom full of plush overachievers.
          
          It’s ridiculous.
          It’s exhausting.
          It’s also one step closer to the real thing.
          
          Because every time I hit “record,”
          I’m practicing for the moment I walk into an actual classroom —
          where the kids talk back, the markers squeak,
          and no one’s made of polyester.
          
           Two classes left until student teaching.
          I’m almost there —
          and honestly, my stuffed animals are thriving. ✨