All Posts

I remember getting a Facebook account in 2007. That’s nearly two decades ago, for those of us keeping track. What started as a way to connect with friends near and far morphed into a hyper-fixated curation of our lives. Photo by Felicia Buitenwerf on Unsplash These days, barring those rare unicorns who don’t use social media at all, it’s nearly impossible to not curate how we present ourselves to the world. But I don’t think social media is totally to blame. As humans (even

We grow up surrounded by rules. Parents, teachers, coaches, or superiors repeat them to us aloud. Others we absorb through society standards. We learn to not make a fuss, not take more than our share, not to take up too much space. Often, we are discouraged from trusting our guts in order to keep the peace. Don’t be too loud, too bold, to anything. Photo by Mark Duffel on Unsplash Some of these rules carve pathways of safety. Others become fences we never agreed to build. I’

There’s a moment in your life when you realize you’ve been shrinking. Sometimes it happens slowly, so slowly you hadn’t noticed until you felt half the size you used to be. Other times it hits like a jolt: a question asked, a comment made, a boundary crossed, and suddenly you hear yourself say sorry for something that isn’t yours to carry. Photo by Deniz Altindas on Unsplash We learn early (especially as women) that an apology is a form of social currency. We hand it out at

There’s a moment that lives in the back of your mind—not for what you said, but for what you didn’t. Maybe you bit your tongue to keep the peace or softened your truth because you didn’t want to seem unkind or difficult. Maybe you just didn’t have the words yet. We’ve all been there, standing at the edge of honesty or feeling the weight of something unspoken press against our chest. Photo by Nsey Benajah on Unsplash Those almost-words can echo in our mind and become the thin

Lately, I’ve been thinking about the kind of ambition that whispers instead of shouts. Some ambition doesn’t sprint toward a finish line but moves like water—steady, fluid, and adaptable. Photo by Deleece Cook on Unsplash So much of what we’re taught about ambition is loud and purpose-driven. We’re told to go after our goals, to hustle, to grind, to push, but what if the most meaningful ambitions aren’t born from striving at all, but from listening? What if they begin in the

We all know the feeling when you intend to do something, to finally take that step forward when suddenly, your mind floods with reasons why not yet. You tell yourself the conditions aren’t right, you’re not ready, you need to think it through a little more, you need to prepare. Photo by Colin White on Unsplash Resistance wears many disguises: procrastination, perfectionism, self-doubt, excuses, or timing, to name a few. It shows up as scrolling instead of starting, as over-p

At The Rewrite Workshops, we often say that writing helps us “rewrite our stories,” but what if that’s not just poetic language? What if it’s literal — that every time you put pen to paper, you’re helping your brain rewire itself for growth and the ability to change? Photo by Bhautik Patel on Upsplash It turns out that’s exactly what’s happening. Our brains are not static. They’re constantly reshaping and rerouting themselves based on what we repeatedly think, feel, and do. T

The world won't fall apart if you don't do ALL THE THINGS... I spent four days last week in the Blue Ridge Mountains doing taking time for myself and my writing at the Wildacres Writing Workshop. Let me tell you, it was life-changing. I felt a pang of guilt for taking nearly a week for myself to disconnect from the outside world and focus solely on writing. But that disconnection was exactly what I needed to focus and, honestly, to reset. When I say disconnect, I mean my pho

Embracing Fear

We love tidy endings. The movie fades to black, the couple reconciles, the hero learns the lesson, the music swells. We exhale,...

We live in a culture that tells us we should always be blooming. We’re told to hustle, grow, achieve, and constantly push forward. But...

There are places that shape us long before we realize it. The street corner where you waited for the school bus, the kitchen table where...

We all have the version of a story that we tell the world. It’s polished, edited, and shaped into something that makes sense and that is...

Our bodies remember what our minds sometimes forget. They hold tension, joy, memory, and grief. A clenched jaw, a racing heart, a knot in...

There are words we carry like stones in our pockets. Apologies never spoken. Anger swallowed. Gratitude left unsaid. We tell ourselves...

We’re taught from a young age to ask for permission. Raise your hand. Wait your turn. Be polite. Don’t be too loud, too messy, too much....

We are told stories throughout our lives, and some we carry in our bones. We don’t always realize it, but long before we write our own...

There are few emotions more misunderstood than anger. Many of us—especially women, femmes, and people raised to be caretakers—were taught...

We live in a culture that praises the grind. We’re taught to measure our worth in tasks crossed off, hours worked, things produced....

When we talk about rewriting personal narratives, we often focus on the past—unpacking the wounds, tracing the patterns, understanding...