personal growth – Tate Basildon

The “What If” Game and the Man Who Didn’t Know He Was Sick Yet

There was a version of me in 2002—forty years old, a working chef, exhausted in ways that made no logical sense, and listening to doctors insist that every alarming symptom was “stress.” Now that sarcoidosis is a familiar part of my vocabulary, looking back on that time feels like watching a movie where you want to yell at the character to turn around. Revisiting that moment made me rethink the “what if” game entirely and wonder how differently life looks when you finally know what your body was trying to tell you.

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When Faith Becomes a Wall: Choosing Peace Over Painful Family Reunions

When religion divides families, sometimes the kindest thing you can do is stop trying to fix what faith has fractured. As a chef living with chronic illness and a full plate of chaos, I’ve learned that peace is sacred—and you can’t pray someone into respecting your boundaries.

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The Night I Met My Inner Warrior

At sixteen, a quiet walk home turned into the scariest night of my life — and the moment I found the fighter hiding inside me. What began as terror became transformation, proving that courage doesn’t wait for permission. This is the story of how I went from frozen in fear to running on pure fire.