I’ve only been in Little Rock for 12 or so hours when I find my way to the Flying Fish. My friend heralds this place as “the best fried catfish place” but I know when she says the name that it’s nothing extraordinary. We have one in Fort Worth, a place where rich people go to feel like they are back to their roots, low country fare serve fried that tastes like an indulgence when compared to the gluten-free organic food that is usually consumed.
Read More“Hopefully you won’t still be doing this by then.”
The “this” he was referring to is my weekend job: I work in hospitality at a music venue. I did this for about six months part-time after I graduated college before I landed my first “real job.” When I moved on from that first “real job” a year later and started my current full-time job at a non-profit, I returned to this backstage hospitality job on the weekends (because Americorps basically pays you in loose change).
Read MoreMy heart lives in Minnesota.
My soul lives in Nashville.
My mind lives in New York.
It's hard being split in three.
Read MoreI have not listened to "Mr. Brightside" by the Killers since graduating college.
My 2016 Boston College grads feel me on this. That song might be on every single playlist I made those four years. It was the party song. It's a great workout track. We'd bump it on car rides—out of state, to the local grocery store, it didn't matter. On my 22nd birthday, my best friends threw me a party, and I stood on a table while I and a roomful of humans shouted "I NEVERRRRRR" at top volume. I don't remember a time when I didn't know all the words (honestly, does anyone not know all the words?).
Read MoreAfter being laid off from my job two months ago, I packed my desk and drove to the beach. It was a perfect day for shorts and a sweater, walking along the bike paths and lifting my face toward the sun every few minutes. I wanted my skin to burn.
Read MoreI’m not the most widely educated music fan (I dunno what the kids are listening to these days, soz), but when I love an album, I LOVE AN ALBUM, taking upon myself the role of that album’s unpaid hypeman. Below are three underrated (from my perspective) albums that I wish everyone in the entire world had the same intense emotional connection with that I have.
Read MoreDespite the fact that I am oddly aware of all of this, I love making plans. The idea of a full social calendar has always been appealing. I'm the quintessential "extroverted-introvert" who lives for the opportunity to be a party girl, yet craves serious alone time. By Monday, I have plans for a mid -week dinner and by then, Friday night plans are brewing. Meanwhile, all the while, I’m thinking, “Shit, I just want to do nothing in peace, yet have an ongoing conversation via text with my best friend.” All of this mental anguish is because I said “yes.”
Read MoreNow, at nearly 24 years of age, I go to bed every night with the latest version iPhone in front of my face and happily let it greet me every morning. This tiny computer is my companion; I couldn’t imagine life without it. It serves as an escape when I need it to, and a distraction when I don’t. It has the power to remove me from reality and cut down drastically on actual physical connection. I, more often than not, chose to be in that simulated world at my fingertips instead of in the present moment.
Read MoreQuestions loomed in my mind as I trekked to the office: What if I just didn’t show up today? Is the money worth this heartache? Should I take a risk and quit?
Here are the signs that I found that say it’s time to move on.
Read MoreThere was a time about a two years ago when I found myself seated at a table surrounded by wine glasses filled with varying types of expensive wines, waiters fluttering to and from my table bringing course after course of exquisite food. And my primary emotion? Not delight, but disbelief. I felt like a fraud.
Read MoreMy run was a quick relief from the busy day I had been having that Sunday. I had a rough draft due for an editor. I had to work on data for my internship. And the next day I was starting my new full-time job. I was exhausted. So I went inside and took a selfie to describe this mess of my life on Instagram. The mess I like to call happiness.
Read MoreI began my current job on a humid Tuesday in the final week of August.
Two days in, I wanted to quit.
Read MoreI was able to join the cast of two local theatre productions now as a post-grad. I eagerly slipped into my roles and savored my experience on the other side of the audience. Instead of hiding behind my mom as the characters signed autographs, I became the characters that the children lined up to meet. This magical transformation reminds me of how fortunate I am to have theatre at every stage in my life.
Along the way, theatre has taught me these 5 important life lessons.
Read MoreI didn’t make a New Year’s resolution for 2017. I was over setting myself up for failure, so in the spirit of self-love, I decided to challenge myself in more productive ways. I set short term goals, like not getting too drunk to remember the ball drop (failed) and not crying at midnight (allegedly failed).
I did, however, develop a theme and set of rules for the new year. My mantra? “2017 is the year of the GIRL.”
Read MoreIsn’t this a picture of the creative process? Isn’t this a picture of the way I am always tempted to write? Sitting down at my desk often feels a lot like sitting down in group therapy. I am being asked to share my heart, to tell my truth, so I begin to. I start putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) but then I make the mistake of looking around.
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