I've always felt like the black sheep in my family, and I don't mean that in a bad way. Or should I say "baaaa-d" way. Okay, I get it. My puns are terrible. Moving on. Since I was five and started obsessively drawing unicorns after watching The Last Unicorn dozens of times, I have always … Continue reading Why Black Sheep Know How to Fight the Wolves of the World →

Time and time again, I've heard people describe individuals with anxiety as being "dramatic" or "just wanting attention." I've heard and I've had to endure the perception that because I am an anxious being, it must be because I want everyone to pay attention to me and my problems and, hence, I need to just … Continue reading Why Anxiety is Like a Hypothetical, Mind Wrangling Ghost →

I used to think I would never get a tattoo. I never thought I would love something so much that I would want to permanently ink it on my body. I had also seen plenty of episodes of Bad Ink and would witness and observe all of the nightmarish tattoos etched onto people when they … Continue reading Why I Don’t Listen to Older People When They Lecture Me About Tattoos →

I am a woman of many emotions. Not in the volatile sense, but I can often let my emotions get the best of me and the best of others. I don't intend to let this happen - it just happens. My mom has always known this is the creative soul speaking through me since I … Continue reading How to Love and Be Loved By an Artist →

"Hey mom, can we get a dog?" cried my sixth grade self. My mom turned to me with a life lesson in her eyes. All my life, I had grown increasingly aware of my mom's ability to slip life lessons into simple questions like, "How much does a can of Campbell soup cost?" You can … Continue reading Why Caring for a Dog Has Made Me a Better Person →

It takes courage to love. It doesn't matter if it is your music, your art, your writing, or a person. Loving requires you to open yourself up to vulnerability, which includes the possibility of criticism, rejection, heartache, and a myriad of other emotions that humans have a hard time grappling with. You know the phrase … Continue reading An Open Thank You to My Ex Who Gave Me the Opportunity to Love Again →