The Journal

Notes from a life shaped by creative courage and everyday kindness

Essays: Long-form narratives for unhurried reading

Pushcart Prize-nominated · Published in Pangyrus, Brevity & Chicago Story Press

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An Unwanted Inheritance: A Fractured Love
An Unwanted Inheritance: A Fractured Love

I've crafted a life defined by speech rather than silence. Yet for all my determination to break the cycle, I still find myself slipping into inherited patterns.

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Easier to Let You Win
Easier to Let You Win

What's the difference between helping and controlling? Between care and erasure? An essay about marriage, inheritance, and painful recognition.

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Two Worlds Under One Roof
Two Worlds Under One Roof

What happens when two people who love each other live fundamentally different lives? A dual-voice essay about marriage, contradiction, and staying.

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Inside, Outside: Celebrating Multitudes in a World that Flattens Us
Inside, Outside: Celebrating Multitudes in a World that Flattens Us

What if not knowing what comes next isn't a weakness—it's your process? After 20 years of doubt, I learned that presence beats planning. This is the story of trusting your creative instincts, even when everyone around you has it "figured out."

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Podcasts: Deep, meaningful conversations about creativity, presence, and life

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Rebloom: A Talk about Creative Courage
Rebloom: A Talk about Creative Courage

For a year and a half, the ReBloom Podcast kept me company on long walks and rowing workouts—stories of people who rebuilt their lives against the grain. I never imagined I’d be one of them. This week, my episode went live.

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On Beauty, Currency, and the Strange Liberation of Letting Go
On Beauty, Currency, and the Strange Liberation of Letting Go

This isn't about finding the "right" way to age or the "correct" relationship with beauty. It's about creating space for the honest conversations we rarely have.

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On Beauty, Worth, and the Courage to "Just Be You."
On Beauty, Worth, and the Courage to "Just Be You."

This wasn’t a talk about beauty, not really. It was a talk about how we see ourselves and how we see one another.

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Kindness as Rebellion
Kindness as Rebellion

In conversation with Sherry Taveras for her podcast The Hundred Acre Pen about kindness as an act of rebellion.

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Everyday Life: Snapshots of noticing, reflecting, and giving thanks

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The Messy Middle
The Messy Middle

What becomes possible when you feel genuinely safe to not have the answer? When there’s no performance required, no expertise to demonstrate, no version of yourself to maintain?

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What the Page Doesn’t Show
What the Page Doesn’t Show

The page holds the marks. But it doesn’t hold the nervous system state that made them.

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A Celebration of Your Work
A Celebration of Your Work

An exploration of how finger painting and intuitive art practices can help adults overcome creative blocks and rediscover play.

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The Companions You Don’t Know You’re Looking For
The Companions You Don’t Know You’re Looking For

The Ripple Room doesn’t solve the loneliness of being 'sorted'—it offers something better: the permission to finally be unmasked.

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Poetry: Small Words, Big Feelings

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The Shape of Solitude
The Shape of Solitude

From grey slime that shifts to waves that comfort to fireflies flickering, this is my shape of solitude.

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Air
Air

A poem loosely based on the theme of Air

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Ollie
Ollie

An ode to my fur baby

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A Day of Gluttony
A Day of Gluttony

An unedited, unfiltered, stream-of-consciousness writing.

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Token Tales: Real stories of handmade tokens meeting the world

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A Flourish
A Flourish

Two tiny gestures. Two human connections. Countless ripples flowing outward.

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Seeing People
Seeing People

What we do is such a simple thing—anyone can do it! But how often do we make the time?

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Kindness Ambassadors Wanted
Kindness Ambassadors Wanted

It starts with us. One genuine thank you. One moment of true seeing. One small gesture of appreciation at a time.

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Make Connections
Make Connections

Next time you’re in a waiting room, perhaps think of it as an opportunity to create moments of connection?

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No Phone, Just Art: A 5-Minute Invitation for a Creative Reset

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Welcome to Day 1: No-Phone, Just Art
Welcome to Day 1: No-Phone, Just Art

5 minutes. It’s simple. No dings to respond to. No nervous energy about missed notifications. Simply presence.

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Day 2: No Phone, Just Art
Day 2: No Phone, Just Art

Perfection is never the aim and specificity isn’t a goal. Just 300 moments of presence.

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Day 3: No Phone, Just Art
Day 3: No Phone, Just Art

No pressure to form shapes or patterns unless you want to. The focus is the process, not the product.

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Day 4: No Phone, Just Art
Day 4: No Phone, Just Art

Your grid can be as structured or as flowing as you like. The joy is in the repetition and variation.

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Day 5: No Phone, Just Art
Day 5: No Phone, Just Art

Any colors work — bright or soft, warm or cool. Today is about celebration, not perfection.

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Not a 5-Minute Challenge, Just an Invitation to Pause
Not a 5-Minute Challenge, Just an Invitation to Pause

It’s an opportunity to welcome ease into your day—just five minutes of presence in a non-filled space. A space in which we “instinctively” reach out for our phones.

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