Here are a few lessons learned from my first MFA residency. — I’m really excited to finally start my MFA in Fiction. This is something I’ve been chasing since 2017. It was, ironically, crushing depression from being rejected from PhDs one year and then MFAs the next that drove me to start my Instagram poetry account because I felt like I had…

Even getting a job in the city wasn’t enough to make me feel validated. — Imposter syndrome made me believe I’d never make it in NYC — even getting a job and an apartment in the city wasn’t enough to make me feel like I did it. You see the logic gap here too, right? My little New York story started in 2019 when I…

Writing brain has the blue screen of death? Try these ridiculously difficult fixes! — You haven’t written in days? Read 50 serious how-to articles? Haven’t done anything? That’s okay! You just need a reboot! Grab a cup of coffee (or liquor) and let’s figure out how to reboot your internal writing machine. Start by turning it off and on again. Yes, really. The human…

The longer you stay being a productive adult, the more you’ll witness on a typical day at a Starbucks in the city. — Whether you love them or hate them, Starbucks is such a well-known chain that it’s practically part of our culture. Some would argue that with the prices they charge, it’s the epitome of indulgence. Others enjoy the sugar rushes too much or appreciate the fact that Starbucks does actually do…

Your alone time is only enriching if you make an effort to practice self-introspection. — There’s a beautiful line in Utada Hikaru’s song “Michi,” which typically translates to “road.” The line goes, “It’s a lonely road / but I’m not alone.” In the context of the rest of the song, it makes a little more sense — it’s basically about how we’re all alone sometimes…

I was isolated for years —then swung to the opposite extreme and didn’t want to do anything alone. — Sharing hobbies with the most important people in your life is a bit harder than we initially expect it to be. Growing up, I was very much a social outcast. I was an introvert with social anxiety when I was a kid. I’ve come a long way since then… Now…

Over the years, my poetry practice has become one of the biggest ways I practice presence. — “The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion.” —Thích Nhãt Hanh Looking Too Far Past the Day This is a longer piece and it’s a little rough, but I really wanted to put all of these different ideas out on the page. I wrote this at a moment when I was questioning…

It might sound ridiculous, but it’s a mindset and a lifestyle. — “When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime your system is running.” ― James Clear, Atomic Habit If you haven’t done a lot of content creation, I might sound…

When you push yourself to grow, finding comfortable limits is harder than you might expect. — Personal growth means something a little different to every person. We’re all pursuing unique goals and no two people are exactly alike. Personal development journies run on different timelines and look quite different for everyone. While so much varies, there are some commonalities too—especially in the roadblocks you might end…