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What Are You Actually Afraid Of?
I’ve been thinking about fear a lot lately. My own, mostly. The kind that shows up when you’re doing something new — stepping into work that feels bigger, or different, or more visible than what you’ve done before. The kind that keeps asking: what if this doesn’t work? And I’ve been…
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When the Packing List is On Point, but the Universe Has Other Plans
I just got back from an epic trip to Central Europe with my husband, including a Danube River Cruise from Budapest to Prague — and I packed a carry-on. That’s it. I am a minimalist packer by conviction and also by stubbornness. I know what I need. I know what…
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The Part of You They’re Allowed to See
Portrait mode: on You know that photo someone else takes of you at a party, the one taken with no warning, a bad angle, and zero filter? Contrast that with the one you took yourself with the right light and 37 retakes? Perfectionism is the gap between those two photos.…
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For a long time, I treated “someday” as a plan
On perfectionism, timing, and what helped me begin Six years ago, I was stuck in a loop that will probably sound familiar to anyone who tends toward perfectionism. Should I write a book? Not can I write one. I knew I could put words on a page. The question was heavier than…
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When Perfectionism Puts On A Blazer
I don’t know if you feel this way when you create, but I tend to do one of two things: I either get it out fast (a nod to my years as a public information officer and emergency management communicator), or I get stuck in creative revision. Now that I’m…
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If You Feel Behind, Read This
One feeling keeps coming up for so many women I know, and I’ve felt it myself: behind. Not behind in a dramatic way. Behind in the circumspect, capable-woman way. Behind on the timeline. Behind on what life is “supposed” to look like by now. The Script I Was Following For…
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This Is Not for Everyone (and That’s Okay)
I’m not AI-generated. My hair is gray and curly. My eyes need correction, and my wrinkles are becoming more prominent. I know who I am, what I need to do most days, and—just as importantly—what I don’t know yet. I try not to imply expertise where I don’t have it.…
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Not Everything Has to Be New
On familiar routines, losing your way, and remembering how to come home A few weeks ago, I took my dog on a walk, like I do every morning. Same leash. Same gate. Same loop around the dirt path while she sniffs, wanders, and does her very important dog business. When…
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I learned something awesome (and I want to share it with you)
Since I wrote about the question I’m taking into 2026—How can this be easy?—I’ve been testing it in one specific area where “easy” feels… suspicious: writing. Because if you’re anything like me, you don’t mind doing hard things. You just don’t want to make it harder than it needs to…
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A Practicum Note, a Skateboarder Mayor, and a Quiet Pat on the Back
Three Unexpected Gifts That Landed Exactly When I Needed Them Today I received three gifts:a disappointing practicum email,excellent storytelling from a former pro skateboarder–turned–mayor,and a perfectly timed note from James Clear. They may sound like strange gifts, but together they reflect how far I’ve come. A Revision Request and a…