being a woman in today’s world is something that is incredibly difficult. standards and expectations are automatically placed on you from the moment you’re born, ones you never asked for but are somehow expected to navigate and manage anyway. if you don’t know me, a fun fact about me is that i am a people pleaser through and through. i never want someone to be mad, upset, or feel any kind of negative emotion toward me. i am friendly to a fault, even when i should probably be more cautious of people. it’s something i am working on, but that’s…

the first time i went to new york city i was about 22 years old. i remember sitting in the cab and being enamored with the lights, energy, chaos, and people. it was everything i had envisioned in my mind and also what i had seen on the screen. i can wholeheartedly say that i have never, ever, ever fallen in love with a place that quickly. since that time, i have been back to new york around seven times with friends or work-related reasons. however, this last time i went, i was alone. i had never traveled to take…

i am currently sitting in tracy city, tennessee with two dear friends of mine. it’s a friday night, and we’re talking about work, life, and everything in between while i sip on a lime perrier. it has me thinking about what i would’ve been doing on a friday night ten years ago — the peak of my party girl era. for me, this shift has been about learning not to feel guilty when a lifestyle no longer fits. if drinking or partying isn’t something you want anymore, you should be able to step back without worrying about how that choice…

content warning: this post discusses emotional and mental abuse, manipulation, and suicidal threats. please read with care. if you are someone who doesn’t watch the hulu show tell me lies, here is a short description for you. the show follows a toxic, on-and-off college relationship between lucy and stephen. it begins with intense chemistry and slowly unravels into manipulation and emotional control. the series explores how lies, obsession, and blurred boundaries can distort your sense of love and yourself. as the show gained momentum, i saw a lot of myself in lucy and that brought out something in me to…

for those that don’t know me, hi, im katie. something that i love to do is write. over the last few months, i have picked it up again due to changes in my life. i honestly forgot how cathartic it is to let emotions out onto a piece of paper. i used to have a blog many, many moons ago, and it is something that i wish i had kept up. alas, life happened, and i deleted it and moved on. i recently went through a really heartbreaking breakup, and as i started to pull my shit together and figure…