life
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Threads of Life: Soul, Magic, and What Comes Next
I’ve always believed that life is more than the minutes we spend walking around on this earth. Honestly, I can’t wrap my brain around the idea that everything like the trees, the laughter, the heartbreak, the tiny coincidences that feel like winks from the universe just exists to disappear. I’ve seen meaning everywhere I’ve looked, Continue reading
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Traveling Light: No Room for Grudges
Are you holding a grudge? About? I used to hold grudges. Like, really hold them. If you hurt me, you went into my mental file cabinet and I never forgot. But honestly, that wasn’t just me being stubborn, it was me being stuck. PTSD will do that. And let me just say this: PTSD is Continue reading
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Quiet Moments
Sometimes, all I need is a good piece of music and a glass of wine. That’s it. Everything else can wait. Continue reading
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If MBTI Was a Time Machine: Which Era Would You Belong To?
Okay, hear me out. I have this weird theory. Everyone secretly belongs to another time period, like, you’re sitting here scrolling on your phone, but deep down you know your soul is somewhere else entirely. Maybe in a candlelit Paris café, maybe on a hippie commune, maybe running around in shoulder pads in the 80s. Continue reading
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My Ideal Home: A Lush, Whimsical Sanctuary
What does your ideal home look like? If I could design my dream home, it wouldn’t be about trends, minimalism, or perfection. It would be warm, eclectic, whimsical, and alive. A sanctuary that breathes and grows with every moment. Traditional at its core, with hints of preppy charm, a little boho, academic sophistication, and playful Continue reading
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It’s September!
Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit! It’s September 1, and I’ve got my spicy cinnamon and apple candle burning away, filling the house with that warm, cozy scent that instantly makes me feel like fall has arrived, even if it’s still hot and humid outside. There’s something about that mix of spice and sweetness that just feels like Continue reading
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The Last Weekend of August 2025
There’s always something kind of bittersweet about the last weekend of August. It feels like standing in a doorway, you know what I mean? You can still feel summer, but fall is hovering right outside, waiting to step in. The days feel like they’re slipping away a little faster, like the season is quietly packing Continue reading
2025, art, artist, artistic, August 2025, comfort zone, connection, creativity, dim sum, emerald downs, experiences, feeler, feelings, food, Growth, hobbies, horse racing, infj, Inspiration, Learning, life, Mindfulness, moments, moon, nature, new things, paint and sip, painting, positive thoughts, purpose, self-discovery, stars -
The Photo That Started It All
Back in 2007, I finally treated myself to a digital camera. I’d been saving up for it forever, and when I got that little Fujifilm FinePix A600 digital camera in my hands, it felt like holding a tiny key to a secret world. I still have it, and yes… I still use it. That camera Continue reading
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A Cozy Friday Night In
It’s a cozy Friday night, and I’m curled up in my jammies with a pumpkin spice latte I made at home on my new espresso maker (Thanks Dad!) Making my own lattes feels like such a win! Saving money, tasting amazing, and filling my space with that warm, cozy pumpkin spice aroma. I’ve got a Continue reading
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The Power and Paradox of Noticing: An INFJ Perspective
I’ve always noticed the things most people don’t. The tiny shifts in someone’s tone, that half second hesitation before a word is spoken, the invisible rhythm in a room the second someone walks in. These details, so easily ignored, are like neon signs to me. My brain maps them without me even thinking about it, Continue reading
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Bracing For Fall
When I was little, every season in Washington carried its own kind of magic. Summer was blackberry stained fingers and stubborn sunsets that lingered long after bedtime. Spring was cherry blossoms scattered across wet sidewalks, tulips rising out of soggy earth. Winter was snow on the Cascades, holiday lights against dark evergreens, breath curling white Continue reading
art, artistic, Authenticity, autumn, community, consciousness, creative-writing, death, deep-thoughts, experiences, fall, feeler, feelings, Growth, heartache, infj, inner-work, Inspiration, life, longing, Mindfulness, moments, mother, nature, pain, positive thoughts, recovery, reflection, seasons, Self Reflection, suffering, tired, whimsy, writing -
A Day at the Lake: Summer Stillness at Fort Steilacoom
Some days just ask you to slow down. Not because you’re tired or overwhelmed, but because the air feels different. Softer. That was today. Chewy and I went for a walk at Fort Steilacoom Park, one of those places that always helps me come back to myself. The breeze was light, the sun was warm Continue reading
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Cleansed: A Meditative Water Journey
Filmed in black and white, Cleansed is a meditation on renewal. It begins with light, with dryness, with restraint. And slowly, quietly, it unfolds into something softer, wetter, and more vulnerable. The water falls not just on my skin, but through the layers of armor we so often wear in this world. As the droplets Continue reading
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No Vacations, No Retirement —Just Grit and Grace
I grew up in what my mother called “working poor.” It wasn’t a label we wore publicly. It was just… life. At first, I thought we were like everyone else. I thought soup kitchens were just another kind of restaurant. I thought thrift stores were where everyone got their clothes. I thought rich meant your Continue reading
anxiety, Authenticity, blue collar, class, creative-writing, death, deep-thoughts, enneagram4w5, funeral, grief, Growth, health, heartache, inner-work, Inspiration, life, lonely, loss, love, mental health, mother, politics, relationships, Self portrait, Self Reflection, socioeconomics, suffering, tired, working class, writing -
Easter Thoughts from the Back Row at Benaroya
Happy Easter. I’m currently nursing a head cold and still recovering from surgery, so today looks like tissues, tea, and sweatpants. Not exactly the fresh start kind of energy Easter is known for, but it’s real. Yesterday, though, I managed to leave the house for the first time in four weeks. I went to a Continue reading
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Dear INFJ: Letter #3 – You Were Never Meant to Be Small
Dear INFJ, You’ve spent so much of your life folding yourself into quieter versions of who you are. You learned how to dim your light, not because it wasn’t bright, but because it made others squint. You learned how to carry other people’s pain without them even asking, like it was your job, your purpose, Continue reading
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Pathology Update
I had surgery a few days ago, and I’m so relieved to share that everything came back benign – absolutely no cancer! The mass that was removed was a very large mature cystic teratoma. One unexpected finding was that my left fallopian tube was fused shut, meaning it wasn’t open the way it should be. Continue reading
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Silent Wars
Why must I fight these battles alone, carrying shadows no one has known?A whispering ache, a hollowed plea, drowned in silence, swallowed by me. The moonlight flickers on my skin,Tracing the wars that rage within.Armor cracked, yet none can see, the weight, the fear consuming me. Echoes dance in empty halls,Mocking ghosts that hear my Continue reading
The Dreamer's Pen 