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catherine grace 🪩

@cgsigman

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@universityofga alum

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happy first day of unemployment to my fellow graduates!

It took a village to get here. Thank goodness when I needed a village, I got the whole classic city and then some…The dog days might be over, but the dawg days never will 🫶🐾 #neverbarkalone taken in University of Georgia by @cgsigman

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2 years ago

May is #celiacdisease awareness month and #ehlersdanlossyndrome awareness month, so here are a few of my favorite memories from this month. Some moments that happened not in spite of my health, but alongside it.

Most of my close friends know what the last seven years have looked like. Fewer people know what those diagnoses have actually cost. Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have understood it either. I couldn’t have imagined relying on feeding formulas in a college dorm room, losing forty pounds of muscle, or watching malnutrition quietly reshape my hormones, my body, and parts of my personality. Chronic illness changes you. There’s no way around that.

Fortunately, along the way, I gained more than I lost (not just in weight, but in spirit).

I gained a deeper appreciation for ordinary days. I gained resilience I never asked to build. I gained friendships that survived cancellations, flare-ups, doctor’s visits, and long stretches of uncertainty. And I gained a support system that never let me forget who I was when survival mode made it hard to recognize myself.

As the diagnosis gap shrinks, I often see conditions like celiac disease and hEDS dismissed as “TikTok disorders.” The reality is much less dramatic. It’s just that more people are finally finding answers. Many are doing so after the mass-disabling event that was COVID-19, while others are benefiting from years of progress in awareness and research.

Living with chronic illness doesn’t make you weak. Sometimes it just makes you feel weak. The people around me have been a constant reminder that those are not the same thing.

So this is a thank-you. To my family, my childhood friends, my sorority sisters, my newest friends, and everyone who has shown up with patience, understanding, and love. You helped me find my way back to myself alongside hEDS, celiac, and a slew of other questions and uncertainties.

As May comes to a close, go hug your gluten-free friends. They might need it!

Happy May 🤍 by @cgsigman

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4 months ago

yo no visito, vuelvo taken in Puerto Rico by @cgsigman

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5 months ago

& company & places & things by @cgsigman

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10 months ago

Halloween stretched for weeks in both directions by @cgsigman

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a year ago

psa I still exist #hiatusover by @cgsigman

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a year ago

spent all week barefoot but still don’t see defeat 🤷‍♀️ taken in El Yunque National Forest by @cgsigman

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2 years ago

feeling greedy for sneezing since I’m so blessed taken in Puerto Rico by @cgsigman

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2 years ago

Perfect start to a very merry January 💌 happy christmukkah/happy new year/happy birthday/happy anniversary/gratitude maxing by @cgsigman

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2 years ago

We turned 7!

PSA re: I love Noah
To my life teammate, best friend, and partner: 14-
and 15-year-old us knew when you told me you were going to marry me before we were officially boyfriend and girlfriend that we had something special :,) thank you for loving me through our youth into our adulthood, through thick and thin: moving, different colleges, injuries and chronic illness. Happy anniversary to my sunshine @noahpappo by @cgsigman

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2 years ago

Big, BIG thank you to @strikemagazineathens for including me in Issue 08!

And a special shoutout to my stylist @sophiabradl3y and my makeup artist @alice.a.young, so grateful to be your model 💌

📸: @fotosfromjames
You can read Allegory online at https://issuu.com/strike_magazine/docs/08_allegory_final taken in Hotel Abacus Athens by @cgsigman

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2 years ago

Invidious with @strikemagazineathens

Concept Director: @eshaeagle
Concept Assistant: @maryjaneerichard
📸: @emmalou_conliff
Beauty: @alice.a.young (my artist) @gretajohnst0n @your.average.em @willjoh_
Video: @izzyfarina
Writing: Stella Turner
Casting: @erinkalinsky
Social media: @rachel.clark
Styling: @sophiabradl3y, Jermaine Johnson, @nessa.wh0 @l1zz1ewalker
Layout: @anslatay by @cgsigman

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2 years ago