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Shayla Renae 💖

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Learning to Live in the Light: Emerging from the Cocoon

Learning to Live in the Light: Emerging from the Cocoon

Writing about trauma, healing, faith, motherhood, teaching, and becoming who I was always meant to be.

2026

Stories

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Dancing Elephants Press

by

Shayla Renae 💖

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Jul 22

The Cocoon I Built to Protect Myself

After twelve years of healing, I realized the safety I created had quietly become isolation, and I was finally ready to look up again.

A silver-haired woman wearing sunglasses sits thoughtfully in a bright flower garden, looking toward a cocoon and newly emerged butterfly as petals drift in the breeze.

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Hope, Healing, and Humour

by

Shayla Renae 💖

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Nov 3

I Thought No One Would Come

Two years later, I can see that the night I expected to feel invisible was one of the first signs I had finally found where I belonged.

A warm, colorful storybook-style illustration of a silver-haired special education teacher in a flowy blouse surrounded by young students and their families during a busy Back to School Night. The classroom is filled with children’s artwork, books, and cheerful decorations, with “Back to School Night” written on the board.

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ILLUMINATION

by

Shayla Renae 💖

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Nov 1

Six Organs Gone. Am I Still a Woman?

My body changed again. My identity had to catch up.

A reflective older woman with gray hair, bangs, and glasses sits at a table with a journal and coffee, surrounded by glowing memory circles showing motherhood, family, teaching and advocacy, and quiet reflection by the water.

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Middle-Pause

by

Shayla Renae 💖

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Oct 31

The Distance Between Longing and Belonging

COVID taught me how to stay connected from a distance. I’m still learning how to feel close again.

An older woman with gray hair and glasses sits in a waiting room facing a glowing, sparkly AI woman made of light. Vertical glowing bars separate them while they look directly at each other, suggesting both connection and distance in a technology-filled world.

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In

Dancing Elephants Press

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Shayla Renae 💖

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Aug 10

I Wasn’t Just Trying to Prepare. I Was Trying to Feel Safe

One unfinished school schedule sent me into a weeklong shutdown and taught me something about my need for control.

A colorful storybook-style illustration of an older special education teacher with silver hair and glasses sitting at a cluttered classroom desk, looking overwhelmed while trying to build a schedule. Six binders for Transitional Kindergarten through 4th Grade sit beside her, with student papers, a laptop, planner pages, and a classroom calendar filling the scene.

In

Know Thyself, Heal Thyself

by

Shayla Renae 💖

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1d ago

We Grew Up in the Same Home — We Did Not Have the Same Outcome

My brother and I lived through the same childhood trauma, but it followed us down very different paths.

A young sister and brother standing at the side of a lake while wearing rainboots.

In

Catharsis Chronicles

by

Shayla Renae 💖

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6d ago

When Love Comes in Breadcrumbs

I spent years trying to understand people who hurt me. Now I am trying to understand why I kept reaching back.

A warm, colorful storybook-style illustration of a silver-haired woman with glasses sitting thoughtfully in a cozy room. Glowing breadcrumbs form a path from the room out through an open doorway into a bright garden. Two framed signs read, “I can love deeply without losing myself” and “not all crumbs are enough.”

In

Hope, Healing, and Humour

by

Shayla Renae 💖

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Aug 2

When Everything Went Wrong at Grammy’s House

Our carefully planned visit disappeared, but something more meaningful took its place.

A grandmother and her nine-year-old granddaughter lie on blankets and pillows, watching a movie on a cell phone in their makeshift home theater during a power outage.

In

Dancing Elephants Press

by

Shayla Renae 💖

·

Jul 27

Is AI Really So Different From Sliced Bread?

We have always embraced inventions that make life easier. The question is what we give up when convenience starts doing the thinking for…

A split illustration contrasting the past and present. On one side, a woman bakes bread by hand in an old-fashioned kitchen. On the other, a person works with artificial intelligence on a laptop in a bright, colorful modern setting.

In

Hope, Healing, and Humour

by

Shayla Renae 💖

·

Jul 26

I Wanted to Quit When My Teaching Assignment Changed

After the shock wore off, I realized I could not control the decision, but I could control what I chose to notice.

A stylized illustration of a silver-haired special education teacher with glasses and a messy bun sitting at a cluttered desk covered in schedules, paperwork, student data, sticky notes, and grade-level folders from TK through fourth grade. A classroom sign behind her reads, “Data Collecting Is My Cardio.”

Shayla Renae 💖

Shayla Renae 💖

Book Author

Friend of Medium

Writer and published author. Mother, grandmother, and special education teacher reflecting on faith, mental health, disability, grief, and the life we’re given.

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