This past year - but especially this summer - has felt a little bit like living in survival mode. There's just been so much going on in my life that's it's felt like something new every time I blinked, and it was really hard to plan. I kind of had to just focus on living in the day-to-day - on getting the things done that needed to get done, and calling it good enough. There wasn't really a lot of time (or mental capacity, maybe) to spend worrying too much about longer term wants and plans - I had to focus on the here and now to keep from getting too overwhelmed.

Today is my 35th birthday - I think that means I'm now solidly and officially in the mid-30s. I don't know that I ever really thought to imagine what my life would be like at this point, but if I had, it probably would've looked different than the reality of it. In general, I feel great being in my 30s - more settled, more content, and more confident than I ever did in my 20s.

I debated not writing this post - it feels almost like I'm bragging to write about getting to see Taylor perform after so many people tried and failed to get tickets. But this was a huge moment for me, and I want to share a little bit about why, and what it was like.

Just like I haven't always been a "word of the year" person, I similarly haven't been a New Years resolutions person, either. But I do think there is something to setting goals in January to help guide and direct you through the rest of the year. I am careful when I pick my goals, though - I really only focus on things I'm actually passionate about and feel really strongly about trying to achieve. I'm not going to pick a goal that I feel like I "should" have on my list - it's more about things that I know I want to work on all year long because they add value to my life. So with that in mind, here are my goals for 2023.

I'm 34 today! Last year I talked about being more comfortable in myself and my life the older I get, and that's still true. But I think that the word that comes to mind this year when I think about me and my life is content.

Mondays are always rough, and today is a Monday after a time change, when we "lost" an hour of sleep. So it seems like a good day for me to make a gratitude list - just sharing the things that I'm feeling thankful for right now.

his post is a bit of a "pinch me" moment. I shared the good news on Instagram earlier this week, but I'm so, SO excited to share here that I'll be speaking at this year's Pittsburgh Humanities Festival at the end of the month!

I know that there's so much going on in the world right now - lots of very heavy things. But that doesn't mean that my life has stopped, and I've had some good news lately. It feels strange in some ways, to be celebrating my own wins when there's so much bad all around. But I think it's important to celebrate the wins whenever they come, big or small, and in whatever form.