After the laughs and the raw fish and the Ferris wheel, we went back to his apartment and made out on his couch, listening to Van Morrison until dawn. My arm fell asleep about an hour in, but I didn’t say anything for fear of disrupting the kissing. When I finally got up to leave, it hurt to get my keys out of my purse.

My signature move was to pack up all my opinions, feelings, likes, and dislikes, and set them aside so I could absorb the lifestyle, interests, and friends of whoever I was dating. If I remain compliant, sweet, easy, and suggestible, then you’ll really love me, right?

When Laurel asked me questions she looked into my eyes with such attentiveness and genuine curiosity that for the first time in my life, I felt seen. For a girl who had felt incredibly misunderstood by the one most important female figure in her life, this was the gift I needed to set me on my path.

creatives often need logistical and operational support so we can focus on being creative and not be eye-tortured by spreadsheets.

we had tapped into the creative consciousness. I have always viewed ideas as energy, floating in and out of our minds and in the air around us. Whether or not we choose to harness that energy is what differentiates us.

When your intuition guides you to do something, don’t wonder why. Just do it and eventually you’ll find out.

You want someone whose words resonate with you deeply. Who you trust and feel comfortable with, because, week after week, you’ll be spilling your guts out onto a table like puzzle pieces to be sorted through and reassembled.

There’s a real beauty, and freedom, in acceptance.

The concept of having a job that paid the bills and then pursuing your interests on nights and weekends seemed completely absurd to me.