joy is a form of resistance
Good morning sunshine,
I used to think the opposite of fear was love.
So I lived my life with so much love.
I gave it freely and earnestly.
I loved my neighbor.
I treated them with kindness.
But some people will always hate me—
because I’m Black,
because I’m gay,
because I have the audacity to be authentic.
The rejection, the dismissal, the consistent reminder that my love would always be met with disdain,
It was devastating.
So, I fell into outrage.
I let anger swallow me up.
I gave my energy to the pain,
trying to understand why they hate me this much.
But fear feeds on outrage.
Fear feeds on anger.
Fear feeds on pain.
So now I know the opposite of fear is joy—
because fear has no f•cking idea what to do with it.
It can’t consume it.
It can’t turn it into rage.
It can’t make it shrink and hide.
That’s why joy is a form of resistance.
PS. He’s not president yet. Log off. Reclaim your power. And step out of his cycle of fear… even if only for this weekend.
We can’t heal what we don’t face.
Good morning sunshine,
We can’t heal what we don’t face.
Grieving the loss of American ideals takes courage, but it’s a step towards change. Here’s a framework for processing this moment of collective grief.
Acknowledge the pain: Feel the heartbreak—it’s real and valid.
Mourn the distance: Grieve the gap between what you believed about the United States and what’s actually true.
Seek truth: Understand the roots of our issues— sexism, racism, homophobia, capitalism… These forces shape our world and knowing their impact brings clarity.
Be gentle with yourself: Grief weighs us down. Take time to rest, find comfort in your favorite self-care rituals, and give yourself grace.
Find connection: Lean on those who share your grief.
Hold on to hope: Seek out the progress-makers and support them and their vision.
Turn pain into purpose: Let this feeling fuel your art, your choices, and your actions.
A gentle reminder: If this is your first time facing these truths, take it in—let it change you.
But remember, for many of us, these struggles aren’t new. We can’t carry your heartbreak for you. Some of us have been holding this pain for generations.
| PS. If it all feels a bit much, you can always swap the screen for a coloring book or a sudoku puzzle. Wait, should I create an activity book for adults? |
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election day
Good morning sunshine,
Today is a hard day to choose joy.
So we grieve—we let those feelings settle.
Then, we get up again and turn pain into purpose.
We recommit to using our voices and our actions to reflect what we believe in, to live our values every day.
The darkness only exists to remind us that we have to be the light.
PS. We didn’t come this far to stay quiet. It’s time to use our gifts to create change.
…waiting on you to love yourself
So much of my self-love journey is about fully accepting myself, exactly as I am. Recently, I posted a series of content that made one thing clear: my inner critic is dead.
Here’s how you can silence your inner critic, too.
Make something—and whether it’s good or bad, weird or imperfect, share it.
Keep doing this until you discover the kind of work you enjoy making, the kind others resonate with, too.
Don’t worry about the end result.
Focus on the joy of creating. The beauty of the process.
And release any resistance around sharing the most authentic version of yourself.
here’s why I love halloween
Halloween is a beautiful reminder that we’re all capable of reinvention. It invites us to step outside our everyday norms and become whoever—or whatever—we’ve dreamed up. It’s a celebration of imagination, a night when creativity truly takes the spotlight.
What are you dressing up as? Reply to this email and let me know!
As for me, I’m planning to be a fashion-forward version of Gerald from Hey Arnold!…assuming I can pull the fit together in time.
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