The Whisper That Saved My Life When I Was Drowning

TRIGGER WARNING: This post references rape and suicide attempts, which might be distressing for some readers. “Our lives only improve when we are willing to take chances, and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.” ~Walter Anderson This was my third psychiatric hospitalization after my suicide attempts. … Read more

A Case for Joy in a Monetized World

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” ~William Bruce Cameron My gardener and I were talking the other day—his English broken, my Spanish worse—but we found a way to connect. He told me about his eight-year-old son, a bright, joyful kid who loves baseball. The boy wants … Read more

How Getting Dressed Became a Love Letter to Myself

“Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.” ~Rachel Zoe I didn’t set out to find myself. I just looked in the mirror one day and thought, “Wait, when did I stop looking like me?” It was after a breakup—the kind that leaves you foggy, emotionally threadbare, trying to make … Read more

When You Stop Forcing, Life Flows

“You don’t have to force the flow—sometimes your only job is to soften and let go.” ~Unknown For most of my life, I was obsessed with getting everything right. Planning. Controlling. Anticipating every outcome so I wouldn’t be caught off guard. I saw life as a kind of puzzle: if I just made the right … Read more

When You Outgrow Where You Live but Can’t Yet Leave

“Living in the moment is learning how to live between the big moments. It is learning how to make the most of the in-betweens and having the audacity to make those moments just as exciting.” ~Morgan Harper Nichols There’s a peculiar grief that doesn’t often get named. It lives in the moments when you’re neither … Read more

Beyond the Yips: How to Reclaim Your Creative Confidence

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt There’s a quiet moment before the spotlight hits when everything in your body wants to run. Your hands tremble. Your voice tightens. Your breath shortens, even though the room is still. You love … Read more