Naked
Why is it easier for us to get naked than it is to tell someone how we actually feel? Somewhere along the way, we've convinced ourselves that exposing our hearts is more dangerous than exposing our bodies. Maybe it's time we started having the hard conversations before we need a bottle of whiskey to find the courage.
The Loudest Guy in the Room
Sometimes the loudest guy in the room isn't the smartest. He's just the one who can't stand being ignored. After one too many encounters with men who mistake ego for competence, I found myself wondering why confidence so often replaces capability, and why the people worth listening to rarely have to raise their voices.
The Door Was Already There
She kept telling me this was just the honeymoon phase. That eventually we'd settle down and those overwhelming feelings would fade. I don't think she's right. Not because I believe infatuation lasts forever. Because I don't think this is infatuation. I think we simply opened a door and discovered love had been patiently waiting for us all along.
Twenty-Five Years Later
Twenty-five years after walking through the doors of this institution, I found myself sitting in a leadership class for first-time managers, raising my hand just to remind people I existed. It wasn't the training that bothered me. It wasn't even being overlooked. It was the realization that after decades of service, battles fought, and lessons learned the hard way, I'm still standing in the same place saying, "Excuse me, I'm over here." Maybe that's the lesson. Maybe after twenty-five years, it's finally time to stop asking for a seat at the table and build a new one.
The Bravest Thing I Haven’t Done
For twenty-five years, I've fought battles at work, protected my team, challenged bad decisions, and pushed back against corporate nonsense. But lately I've realized something uncomfortable: the bravest thing I may ever do isn't standing my ground. It might be walking away.
The World Quiets Down
Last weekend, I rode to Colorado to see a woman who told me she loved me. What followed was a weekend of uncertainty, vulnerability, reconnection, and a realization that some people don't bring excitement into your life; they bring peace.
Interesting, But Not For Me
After twenty years of dating as a transgender woman, I've noticed a pattern. Endless texting. Great conversations. Coffee. Connection. And then the same conclusion: "interesting, but not for me." This is a story about dating, politics, loneliness, friendship, and the difference between sex and genuine human connection.
Can You Give Him A Goddamned Minute?
A food truck cook accidentally called a woman “he” while buried under a lunch rush. What happened next says a lot about performative outrage, modern allyship, and our culture's inability to distinguish between harmless mistakes and actual injustice.
Katelyn's Log, Earth Date 20260531
This morning I found myself doing something I haven't done in a while: feeling nervous before a first meeting.
Not because I'm looking for "the one." Not because I've built some fantasy in my head. But because every now and then you meet someone who just clicks. Someone whose humor lands. Someone whose perspective makes sense. Someone who feels like they belong in your orbit, regardless of what comes next.
They Should Walk Away Knowing They Mattered
There’s a moment in every project when it stops being an idea and becomes real. Not in some abstract way, but in that gut-level, holy shit this is actually happening way. That moment hit me this week when I opened the first full proof of A Survivor’s Guide to Survival.
Friendship Is the Front Edge of Romance
Friendship, for me, isn’t light. It’s not small talk or shared drinks or passing time. It’s standing at the edge of someone’s soul and choosing to stay. And that’s exactly why I can’t tell where friendship ends and romance begins.
The Sting of “Sir”
I pretend it doesn’t bother me. I’ve learned to pick my battles. But every “sir” lands, and over time, those moments add up in ways people don’t see.
The Ones Who Get It
Some people don’t do small talk. They don’t skim the surface or fill silence with noise. They go straight to the things that matter. When you find one of those people… you know.
The Edge of the Tear
I don’t write to decorate ideas. I write to catch the moment before they break, the edge of the tear, suspended between control and release.
I Got It Right
I’m not smiling because I wrote a book. That’s just mile marker one. You don’t celebrate at mile marker one, you keep walking. You build strength. You send a signal to the universe that you’re not done. I’m smiling because I got the message right… and it’s landing.
Pain, But Progress
They fixed it. That’s the truth. Nerve endings waking back up, sensation returning to places that have been dead since October. That part is a win. But healing isn’t clean. It’s not gentle. It’s sharp, throbbing, and relentless. This is what progress actually feels like.
Cut, Stitch, Publish
On the same day I hand my face over to a surgeon’s knife, I’m waiting for something else to be born: my first book. One stitched back together. One finally set free. Either way, something changes today.
The Moment the Anger Leaves
There’s a strange moment after betrayal when the anger finally disappears. It’s the moment you realize the person who once held your heart no longer holds your gravity.
Defiance
Some betrayals can’t be spoken aloud. Not because they don’t matter, but because telling the full truth would burn more lives than it would heal. Tonight isn’t about revenge. Tonight is about defiance, integrity, and the quiet strength it takes to walk away while still protecting someone who never protected you.
The Chosen
There’s a difference between faith and performance. Between humility and ego dressed up as revelation. I’ve stood close to death, and what I experienced wasn’t loud.