The benefits of reflection are sometimes overlooked. In overlooking these benefits, opinion of self-reflection can lean into mockery of it. I have relearned how to ignore most of this mockery and I journal anyway; the benefits outweigh disdain, and in more recent years, I’ve found a bridge to journalling: voice memos. Those who have used old-school dictation devices might roll their eyes in unison at my newcomer status to such a helpful tool. I think the reason I use voice memos as often as I do now is so I can clarify my process: I can more easily outline what
Tag: trauma
Or… Things I’ve Learned the Hard Way These are affirmations toward authenticity. I don’t know if there is an arrival point, only that I’m making progress, and I’m truer to myself. The struggle to stay true to myself is ongoing. Maybe there are those of us who find this easy; for those who don’t, maybe there’s something here that will resonate. 1. My standards are as valid as those of others. 2. Feeling the intensity of chronic pain in its entirety; associating even the smallest of individually positive moments of life with something safe that allows a
An essay on perception, pressure, and personality Updated March 2026 “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Anaïs Nin Part I ‘It’s like I don’t even know you,’ someone said. ‘You’re behaving like someone else,’ said someone else. These are also things I’ve said. It’s odd how, over time, it seemed like something threatening to become a universal truth: that we should remain unchanged, and change poses trouble. It conflicted with my held beliefs. What I’ve found to be truer is that it’s only one small facet within a spectrum
An Open Acknowledgement of Things Falling Apart and Falling Together My silence was mistaken for acceptance and blind obedience. In essence, I’m direct. I’m honest. I’m unafraid to stand up for someone in need—but I suppose by the time I had to defend myself, I was spent, and tangled—utterly undone—and utterly convinced I was worthless. When I finally redefined my boundaries on my terms, it inevitably led to a freedom of sorts, and with it an eventual resilience, but before that terribly unglamorous transition back into womanhood, my efforts were met with outrage from those no longer holding