Celebrating 1 Year on Substack!

What I’ve discovered from writing 103 posts.

Jun 03, 2026

I can’t believe it’s been a year since I started writing here twice a week.

I’m so proud of myself! What began as an experiment has become one of the most meaningful creative commitments I’ve ever made. Every week for the past year, I’ve spent countless hours showing up to the page– following curiosities, digesting past experiences, testing ideas, sharing perspectives, and following what emerged through me.

When I started, I thought I would eventually find a clear signal—a niche, a framework, or an identity that would finally make everything make sense.

I wanted to know: Am I a lifestyle writer sharing what inspires me? A coach with a framework? A curator? A teacher? A guide?

In true 3/5 Great Life Experimenter style (my Human Design profile), I tried a little bit of everything.

I’ve reflected on the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. I’ve explored desire, growth, manifestation, purpose, and intuition. I’ve shared about my work as a coach. I’ve taught systems I live and breathe by, like Human Design, IFS, and nervous system regulation. I’ve shared my evolving personal style point of view, countless vintage finds, shopping recommendations, and conversations with inspiring friends and clients.

And I have to say, 103 posts later, it’s pretty cool to see the fabric that’s been woven together. Even though, at times, what poured out of me wasn’t exactly what I envisioned.

What I Thought Would Happen

If I’m being honest, I thought I would have found “my thing” by now. I thought consistency would eventually reveal a clear niche, framework, or identity that made me feel more solid and coherent.

What Actually Happened

Instead, I discovered a creative rhythm and a path that allows me to keep moving even when I don’t fully know where I’m going.

One of the biggest lessons from this year has been learning how to create before clarity arrives. At first, that felt wildly uncomfortable. Shouldn’t I be spending my time on something that I know will produce results? I had to teach my body that not knowing wasn’t something to rush out of.

Most posts take me 3–4 sittings. First comes the messy stream of consciousness or collecting of ideas, observations, and finds. Then comes structure and more searching. Then editing and refining.

I’ve learned how to collaborate creatively and intentionally with AI—not to replace my own words, but to help organize them. I’ve also developed repeatable formats that are helpful when inspiration and motivation aren’t flowing.

Over time, the process feels easier to enter each time. And I’ve noticed the thread running through both my coaching and style work around creating more meaning and aliveness in people’s lives.

More than anything, I’ve gained a deep respect for creators and the invisible work behind consistently showing up and publishing. There were plenty of times I hit my creative ceiling and felt mentally and emotionally burned out, and I’m still learning a lot about my limits and how I want to work with them moving forward.

Vulnerability Isn’t the Same as Direction

When I look back, a lot of my earliest posts were deeply personal. Writing helped me process experiences, understand myself more deeply, and make sense of things I’d been sitting with for years.

And while that was incredibly healing, I eventually realized that vulnerability alone isn’t the full story of my work. Around the six-month mark, I found myself craving something beyond expression and honesty. I wanted more of a perspective, a point of view.

So instead of asking, What am I feeling? I started asking, What am I seeing?

Writing Helped Me Stay With Uncertainty

One unexpected gift of writing consistently has been learning how to stay with my own perception without immediately needing to resolve it.

It’s what gave me the confidence to stand on stage and speak to 85 people last week. In the past, I’d led workshops and intimate conversations where I could feel and improvise my way through. But this felt different, I had to stay with what I was seeing and saying without over-explaining it or collapsing it into something more certain than it was.

The Frustrating Part

Unfortunately, I didn’t grow the way another part of me hoped I would.

I didn’t blow up. I didn’t suddenly discover the perfect positioning strategy. I didn’t arrive at a crystal-clear niche.

I’m Starting to Understand My Work

I’m still in the early stages of understanding my own lens.

My favorite pieces are the ones where I’m developing a POV in real time through exploration and genuine curiosity.

Which, interestingly enough, is exactly what I do and love the most in coaching sessions.

I don’t resonate with fixed frameworks for the sake of certainty. I don’t resonate with performing authority. And I don’t resonate with manufacturing emotional narratives just to create connection—even though I sometimes find myself moving in those directions.

I trust more that clarity emerges when there’s enough space for it to form.

Over time, I’ve noticed my curiosity returning again and again to certain tensions we all live within: