Something super random happened this week. I got an email from Google Domains that said they were having a sale. This resulted in me being able to get a domain for free.

A long time ago, I had a blog called Spill the Beans. It was a blog for teens and young people with chronic illness. I've been thinking of redoing it, so I searched for a domain for Spill the Beans. There wasn't one, so I started thinking about renaming it. On a whim (and due to the suggestion of my dad), I chose the name Young and Sick.

At first I wasn't sure what to do with it, but I've decided to just go with it. Last night, I got a burst of inspiration for my first two posts. And so... I'm gonna do this thing.

I'll be writing about fibromyalgia and PCOS, the two conditions I deal with, but I'm also welcoming guest posters so that I can get a multitude of perspectives. I just want this to be a community for people with chronic illness. I want people who are young and sick to not feel alone.

I'll be posting here at Further Up and Further In on Wednesdays, at The Fangirl Initiative on Thursdays, and at Young and Sick on Fridays.

Here we go.

For a long time, my identity online has not included the fact that I'm a spoonie. (As a very-related side note, please read the spoon theory. It may change your life. Thanks to the spoon theory, we chronically ill people fondly refer to ourselves as "spoonies.") Online, I will occasionally mention that I have fibromyalgia and PCOS, and it's not a secret, per se. But I haven't talked a lot about it.

The reason for this is that, honestly, the online world is my escape. Ever since I can remember, whenever I'd feel sick or lonely or crappy in any way, I would turn to the internet. There, I didn't have a faulty human body to hold me back. There, I felt free. (This is also probably why I'm a writer and why I loved to read as a kid.)

So, whenever I've tried to write about chronic illness, it's been hard. It feels like my personal space is invaded by the crappy feelings of fibromyalgia, or a headache, or whatever I'm facing that day. It's not always like that--some days, I do want to proudly claim the badge of "spoonie." But some days I want to forget I'm sick at all.

Last night, I spilled the beans.

No, literally. I had a plate of beans in my hand. And then, suddenly, I didn’t. It flipped off my hand and faceplanted onto the counter. The plate shattered. Beans died. It was a mournful, mournful day.

All kidding aside, I’ve finally done something that’s been two years in the making. Ever since I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I’ve been searching for a site for teens with chronic pain.

There aren’t many.

I’ve wanted to start one for years. I’ve even started one which swiftly died. I’ve been waiting for inspiration, for an idea. And finally, last night, I got it.

Spill the Beans. It’s a blog for any teen with any chronic illness. Because I have fibromyalgia and chronic pain, it’s going to focus on that specifically. But really? It’s for anyone young with an illness that’s a challenge. Anyone fighting a battle that they can’t face alone. Anyone with pain, anyone with a condition that makes them feel older than they really are.

This is for you.

So what are you waiting for? Check out the the blog and the Facebook page.

Lately, I've been sleeping really heavily. What that means is, my dreams have taken on their own alternate reality. I'm almost always me in the dreams (though I sometimes am not me in my dreams and that is a weird experience). Anyway, I'm almost always me in the dreams, but what circumstances I find myself in are very different.

Last night I had a dream that I went on a road trip with my family, which was *cough* if you'll excuse my bad pun, a dream come true. Because of my chronic pain, travelling in real life isn't a reality for me right now. So, what do I do?

Like always, I experience it through dreams.

The whole let's-go-on-a-road-trip thing in my dream was completely random. But I still enjoyed it.

When we went into the midwest, they had the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen.

When we got to the areas like Iowa and such, we got to drive through rows and rows of corn. Yes, literally drive through.

And then I made up this whole other place where the skies were blue with pink cotton-candy clouds and a giant bird was flying overhead. It's hard to put into words here, but... I loved it.

And yeah, my dreams are weird.

But once again, I've realized how wonderful dreams are. They allow you to do things you never could do in real life. Experience new things. New worlds. New feelings. New wonder. Whether you're awake or asleep, dreaming opens up the door.

And for me, that's a wonderful thing.

In other news, I'm trying to decide if what I did was awesome or just plain crazy: I changed my blog template. YES. FINALLY.  I'm learning that it's hard to do a complete design overhaul after using the same one for so long. It's still very much in progress, and some things I might change or delete altogether, but in the meantime, this is the general idea. Thoughts? Aaaand never mind. We're back to the drawing board. :P