Based in New York City, Sophia San Filippo has worked with Love What Matters as a lead editor and content curator since early 2019 and has acted as Managing Editor since early 2021. She is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Binghamton University who holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, Creative Writing, and Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. She is passionate about personal storytelling and creating a positive space in media to better the lives of others. On a typical day you can find her rocking out at her local concert venue, admiring nature, or baking her latest kitchen experiment.
‘They took away the light within me, and I had no support from my school.’: Teen bullying victim with autism shares heartbreaking plea for change
“The bullies made an album of inappropriate images and comments about me. Too embarrassed to show my parents, the school kept it a secret. We were told we had to be ‘tolerant towards other children.’ I just want to venture outdoors and live my dreams without being targeted.”
‘3…2…1.’ Darkness. I awoke to women in overalls. ‘Do you know where you are Mrs. Knowles? Elvis didn’t make it. Would you like to see him?’ I just wept and nodded.’: Mom to angel baby details journey, ‘Grief is love with nowhere to go’
“Empty-eyed, my husband wheeled a grey bassinet into the room. ‘I’m sorry. So, so sorry.’ I’d spent the last 2 years teaching women how to birth babies, yet I couldn’t. Elvis was cold in my arms, but so beautiful. I swore I saw his little chest rise and heard a little grunt, but my mind played tricks on me. I held him as the last pulses of energy left his little body.”
‘At 18, I nonchalantly said to my friend over dinner, ‘I could always have a baby on my OWN.’ I was unlucky in love. Months before graduation, I committed.’: Single mom by choice says ‘this is the best decision I ever made’
“It wasn’t a plan B, it was my dream. The second they placed him on my chest, my world forever changed.”
Tommy Pilling, Husband In Longest-Living Down Syndrome Couple, Dies From Covid-19
His sister-in-law writes, “We are in shock and are heartbroken. Thank you Tommy for showing me what unconditional love was.”
‘I told a woman at the gym my son got into college. She replied, ‘Don’t celebrate too openly, other families may still be waiting.’: Special needs mom explains importance of celebrating milestones, ‘Let us have this’
“I felt a flicker of rage so strong I had to look down at my hands for a moment.”
‘Oh god, did I just pee myself?!’ I watched the midwife’s face suddenly drop. ‘I am SO sorry, but your amniotic sac has broken.’ I was only 18 weeks pregnant.’: Mom births warrior 1-pound baby, ‘I’m holding a living, breathing miracle’
“The doctors gave me pitiful looks and left the room. I sat there, alone, stunned. Miscarry?! Was that even a term they used at 18 weeks pregnant?! My baby had a heartbeat. I put my hand on my stomach; I could feel little flutters in my stomach. No, I thought. I’m not miscarrying. Not today.”
After 1,460 Days Of Battling Infertility, I Gave Birth To Miracle Twins
“Three years into the adoption process, I had a strange urge to take a pregnancy test.”
2021—This Year I’m Making The Rules
“2020 has taught me some things I’m not sure I would have ever learned.”
‘I graduated to a full-time ‘bulimia babe.’ I wasn’t able to digest a cucumber. None of this is glamorous.’: Woman in eating disorder recovery urges ‘change the conversation about body image’
“When I’m on the edge of being sucked back in, I remember the bad times. Being in pain every time I ate. Not experiencing bowel movements for over a month. Eating so much it hurt to walk. I was scared to look in the mirror, to feel my body in the shower.”
‘Something special was taken away from me.’ My entire world was flipped upside down. I felt like I’d been failed.’: Woman shares mental health journey, ‘Surrendering is the strongest thing I’ve done’
“I went manic and blacked out. I can still feel my dad holding me as tight as possible. I was tucked away in the back of trauma triage, a thick bandage wrapped around my wounds. I finally surrendered and the healing started.”