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I Was Raised to Push Through Everything. Now I’m Learning That I Need to Pause.
On generational expectations, mental exhaustion, burnout, and realizing that what helped previous generations survive doesn’t always help us heal. Lately, I’ve been thinking about something that’s been weighing on me. What happens when the advice you grew up hearing no longer works for the person you’ve become? You know the advice. Just keep going. Push through it. Don’t think about it so much. You’ll be fine. Everyone gets tired. That’s just life. I grew up around that kind of mindset. And honestly, I understand where it comes from. Our parents and grandparents lived through their own challenges. They had responsibilities. Bills. Families. Jobs. And situations where slowing down might not…
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I Believe in Letting People Be Themselves, So Why Am I Still Unlearning How I Was Raised?
AM Thoughts | Faith, Diversity, Acceptance, and the Complicated Process of Unlearning There’s something I’ve been thinking about lately, and honestly, I don’t know if I’m going to explain it perfectly. But that’s kind of the point of this Substack, isn’t it? Having conversations about things we’re still figuring out, even when those conversations are uncomfortable, complicated, or difficult to put into words. I consider myself a fairly open-minded person. I believe people deserve kindness, respect, understanding, and the freedom to live their own lives. I believe people should be able to love who they love, express themselves, and discover who they truly are. But here’s where things get complicated…
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We’re Human. We’re Not Supposed to Be Perfect. But We Could Be Kinder.
Maybe the world doesn’t need more perfect people. Maybe it just needs more people willing to treat each other with kindness. I’ve been thinking about something lately. When did we start expecting everyone to be perfect? Perfect lives. Perfect appearances. Perfect careers. Perfect relationships. Perfect opinions. Perfect responses. It’s exhausting. We’re human beings. We’re going to make mistakes. We’re going to have bad days. We’re going to say things we wish we hadn’t. We’re going to misunderstand people, make questionable decisions, struggle with our emotions, and occasionally have absolutely no idea what we’re doing. And you know what? That’s part of being human. But there’s something else I’ve been thinking…
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The Side of Anxiety Nobody Sees
Just because I look like I’m functioning doesn’t mean my mind isn’t fighting a hundred invisible battles. One of the hardest things about living with anxiety is that people don’t always see it. They see me going to work. They see me helping customers. They see me smiling, having conversations, completing responsibilities, and doing everything I’m supposed to do. They see someone who appears to be functioning. Someone who is capable. Someone who is managing. But what they don’t see is everything happening inside my head. The constant worrying. The overthinking. The imaginary conversations. The fears that don’t always make sense. The mental exhaustion that comes from trying to act…
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Protecting My Peace Doesn’t Mean I Stopped Caring. It Means I Finally Started Caring About Myself.
On people-pleasing, anxiety, outgrowing relationships, and learning that being a good person doesn’t mean being available to everyone all the time. There was a time when I thought being a good person meant always being available. Answering every message. Listening to everyone’s problems. Saying yes when I really wanted to say no. Giving people chance after chance because I believed that’s what kindness looked like. And honestly? I think part of me was afraid of what would happen if I stopped. Would people think I was selfish? Would they get upset? Would they stop talking to me? Would I somehow become the bad person simply because I started putting myself…
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The Lonely Life of an Introverted Artist Who Struggles With Mental Health
We love our solitude, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get lonely. Sometimes, we just want someone who understands. There’s something people don’t always understand about being an introverted artist. Yes, we enjoy being alone. But yes, it gets lonely. Very lonely. We can spend hours sitting in our rooms, tucked away in coffee shops, listening to our favorite music, creating something meaningful, or getting lost in our own little worlds. And honestly? Most of the time, we love it. There’s something comforting about being alone with your thoughts, your creativity, and a good playlist. But here’s the part people don’t always see. Sometimes, behind all that creativity, there’s someone…
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Maybe I Was the Brand All Along: 10 Years of Rebranding and Still Figuring It Out
From print on demand to mental health, digital art, and now Substack. Maybe all those fresh starts were leading me somewhere. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about myself over the past ten years, it’s that I’m really good at starting over. And by starting over, I mean rebranding. A lot. New business names, new logos, new websites, new Etsy shops, new ideas. You name it, I’ve probably tried it. My creative business journey started back in 2016 with print on demand. I was a self-taught artist who loved the idea of turning my designs into actual products. Unfortunately, some of my early brands were reported and shut down, and…
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What Does Art Mean to You? Because I Don’t Think There’s One Right Answer.
Maybe art isn’t about creating something beautiful. Maybe it’s about creating something that makes you feel something. Here’s a little 3 AM thought I’ve been sitting with lately. What actually makes something art? Is it a beautiful painting hanging in a museum? A photograph that captures the perfect moment? A messy sketch in someone’s notebook? A poem written during one of the darkest periods of someone’s life? A digital illustration? An AI-assisted creation? Or maybe it’s something as simple as coloring in a coloring book after a mentally exhausting day. I’ve been creating art for most of my life, and the older I get, the more I realize something. Art…
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Is Print-on-Demand Still Worth It in 2026? I’m Not Giving Up Just Yet.
AI can generate a thousand designs before I finish my coffee. But does that mean there’s no room left for independent artists like me? Sometimes I wonder if I picked the worst possible time to be an independent artist. Here I am, a 30-something millennial who’s been creating art and building little online businesses since 2016, trying to figure out how to sell my creativity in a world where technology is moving faster than I can keep up with. And trust me, that’s saying something. One minute, we’re learning how to create digital artwork. The next, we’re opening Etsy shops, experimenting with print-on-demand, figuring out SEO, and trying to convince…
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What If One Day I Walk Into Work and See My Own Artwork on a Shelf?
Sometimes I wonder how far one little creative idea can actually go. And I don’t mean becoming famous. Or building some massive business. Or making thousands of dollars selling artwork online. Although, let’s be real, making some money from my creativity would definitely be nice. I’m talking about something a little simpler. Imagine walking into a store, going about your normal day, and suddenly seeing something you created sitting on a shelf. A greeting card. A sweatshirt. A piece of wall art. Something that started as a little drawing, a photograph, or a random idea inside your head. And now? It’s an actual product. In an actual store. That someone…
Everyone solves their life issues at 3AM right?!