So, You Want to Move to a Small Town? Read This First.

The majestic, small town beauty of the Oregon Coast I dreamed of, and ultimately left. Vasiliki Volkova/ Unsplash. I used to idealize life in a small town. Knowing my neighbors? How dear. Limited options? What a relief. Big fish in a small pond? Confidence boost. While life in a small town does have its charms,

How to Make and Keep Your New Years Resolutions This Year

Ah, New Years resolutions. We make them, break them, and keep coming back for more. Some avoid them altogether, while others dive headfirst into lofty goals and then face inevitable disappointment when their goals are impossible to meet. 2020 has been an exceptional year. As a self proclaimed optimist, I have struggled this year to

16 Ways to Find More Joy and Feel Happier During The Pandemic

This pandemic can be overwhelming. This winter feels like the last leg of a long run. We’re tired, tempted to give up, and yet we know how much better we’ll feel if we just stick to it and finish.  Many of us won’t be seeing family this holiday, and while we see the light at

15 Ways to Beat SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) This Winter

*obligatory disclaimer that I am not a doctor or licensed psychologist, and the following information is based on personal experience and research If you dread winter because you associate it with a particularly low mood, you might be experiencing Seasonal Affective Disorder, or, SAD. Most people in Northern climates experience some version of the winter blues.

30 Life Lessons I’ve Learned in 30 Years

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." -Maya Angelou If only I'd known then what I know now... As I reflect on my twenties, which are officially behind me, I don't regret the mistakes I made. The guys dressed head-to-toe in red flags. The frenemies I

6 Reasons Why Learning to Love Being Alone Helps You Find Your Purpose and Live a More Fulfilled Life

Learning to love and embrace solitude is a gift that will improve your sense of well-being, your creativity, your productivity, and will help you truly know yourself so you can live more purposefully. When we are constantly bombarded with the messages, words, values, and opinions of others, it’s hard to hear our own. We need

One Easy Thing You Can Do Every Day to Feel Better and Release Stress

Life likes to throw us surprises, am I right? 2020 seems to be like if a storage room full of fireworks that went up into flames. The surprises are loud, dangerous, and numerous. With life changing on a daily basis, many of us are stepping up our self care and mental health routines to alleviate

Give Yourself Permission to Let Go of “Shoulds”– If Not Now, When?

This past month has been the pinnacle of a cluster fuck, I'm not going to lie. All kinds of skeletons came tumbling out of a closet I thought was clean, until I moved my dresser a little. Family drama, romantic upheaval, re-hashing sexual assault cases, pandemics, protests, murders, and preparing to do EMDR, in addition

Learn to Be OK With Not Being OK, and Teach Yourself to Ride the Weird

“You cant stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” -John Kabat-Zinn There's no denying that 2020 has been a challenging year. Take the happiness guru's advice that you can bake banana bread to side step emotionally exhaustive experiences with a grain of salt. We're all being challenged this year, some more so than

Self Care is a Radical Act- How to Use Self Care to Serve the Collective

Self care has become a bit of a buzzword these days, and sure, it can be an excuse for marketers to convince you to drop $500 on shoes, or buy shit you don't need, and maybe it's fun to do that once in a blue moon, but what if we re-framed self care as a