Share and Try Not to Care...Too Much

Last weekend, I said goodbye to another really enjoyable theatre experience. I was a part of the cast for the show I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change . It's a musical that explores the trials and triumphs a myriad of characters face when it comes to dating and mating. I vaguely knew of this show before auditioning, but for the most part, it was all new to me. There was rich humor evident in both song and dialogue, which excited me since I'm not someone who takes herself very seriously, especially when it comes to the complex world of dating 😬. It was a gift to tackle material that had me laughing often, and delighting in all the ridiculousness the theatrical creative process can offer. Oddly, even with all that comedy present, I did find myself latching onto the moving moments of the writing. Working on this show encouraged me to reminisce on matters of both the mind and heart . In this post, I lay out some discoveries, as well as input from others who I ask

I don’t know about you, but I get sucked into the world of comparison far more often than I’d like to admit. Growing up, I fantasized about beauty and popularity, assuming those who had that were living more meaningful, exciting lives. Now, at 22, I can tell you that makeup overwhelms me, I wear pajamas more than anything else, and I truly understand that friendship is about quality rather than quantity. As we develop our personalities and grow along our unique paths, we sort of naturally decide what matters to us and what doesn’t. Sometimes I get insecure about the fact that I’d rather stay in than go out drinking, or that there's no amount of money you could offer me to go skydiving. Theoretically, I should worry about getting old, but I really can’t wait to sit on my front porch in a rocking chair eating as much dessert as I damn well please🙌. We’re not all supposed to be interested in the same things; that’s what makes life and relationships so rich. Even though I wish I w

     I was talking to someone recently about how post-grad life feels, and I tried to articulate how weird it is to know I won't be returning to school again in the fall. Something that has been so routine and dependable for more than a decade of my life has changed. I'm aware that there are ways school can become a staple in my life again, such as attending grad school or teaching, but for now I'm attempting to make peace with the unknown and uncover the excitement that can come from no predetermined obligations. My schedule is really mine to do what I want with; that's crazy!      Something else I expressed to this person is that while I may not be immersed in a schooling environment, I still like to describe myself as a student. I truly do love learning in its many forms, and I think if you shut yourself off from it once you leave a formal education setting then you're going to miss out on a lot of growing opportunities. Life itself is probably the ultimate teac

     I'm currently reading a book entitled The Anxiety Toolkit: Strategies for Fine-Tuning Your Mind and Moving Past Your Stuck Points . I probably should've started the summer reading it, but I think I was avoiding what painful truths the book might lead me to discover. That's exactly why I need to read it though, right! This makes me think of a quote in Lena Dunham's book Not That Kind of Girl that reads: "the most terrifying aspect of human health is our refusal to take steps to help ourselves and the fact that we are so often responsible for our own demise through lack of positive action. It makes me want to take a nap." The last blog post I wrote several months ago had such an uplifting tone to it, and I can reread it and recognize that those were my thoughts and words, but right now I feel so disconnected to its message. Ideally, I'd like to see consistent progress over time with my mental/emotional health, so it's definitely disappoi