No, You Don't Get a Comment Section
Writing Life, Freedom & Fire, Rants & Raves Kate Sjostrand Writing Life, Freedom & Fire, Rants & Raves Kate Sjostrand

No, You Don't Get a Comment Section

You are completely free to disagree with me. You're free to complain about me, tell your friends I'm an asshole, or buy a domain and write an entire fucking dissertation explaining why I'm wrong. I'll defend your freedom to do it. What you're not entitled to is space on my website to do it. I paid for my little corner of the internet. I built it. I fill it with my words. And I'll decide what fucking goes there.

Read More
Apparently, I'm a Victim Now

Apparently, I'm a Victim Now

Apparently, writing about shitty things that happen to you means you've embraced a victimhood mentality. Except there's a pretty fucking important difference between acknowledging what happened and surrendering your agency because it happened. Sometimes you're a victim of circumstance. Sometimes somebody genuinely does something shitty to you. That's where the story begins. What you do next is the part that matters.

Read More
The Responsible Thing

The Responsible Thing

A friend suggested a motorcycle that sounded perfectly reasonable. Unfortunately, reasonable and I have a complicated relationship. After spending decades away from riding because someone else was afraid of motorcycles, I came back to them after nearly dying and discovered something important: I’m not giving up the things that make me feel alive again.

Read More
What the Actual Fuck
Freedom & Fire, Rants & Raves Kate Sjostrand Freedom & Fire, Rants & Raves Kate Sjostrand

What the Actual Fuck

What would the Founding Fathers think if they woke up in modern America? Would they recognize the nation they fought to create, or would they wonder how a people born in liberty became so comfortable asking permission? This Independence Day, I found myself asking a question that refuses to leave me alone.

Read More
“Outlaw” Bikers

“Outlaw” Bikers

A trip to the Harley dealership turns into an unexpected lesson about modern biker culture. Expecting to find an ally in the fight against government overreach, one rider instead discovers that not everyone wearing leather believes in freedom the same way. A rant about loud pipes, regulations, Baby Boomers, and the growing gap between the image of rebellion and the reality of compliance.

Read More
Freedom Requires Responsibility (And Other Uncomfortable Truths)

Freedom Requires Responsibility (And Other Uncomfortable Truths)

We’ve reached a bizarre moment in American culture where saying freedom comes with responsibility is treated as cruelty, and expecting people not to shit on public sidewalks is somehow controversial. This isn’t about lacking compassion. It’s about refusing to lie to ourselves about personal agency, work, and the choices that shape a life. Responsibility isn’t oppression. It’s the price of dignity.

Read More
3:00 A.M. and the Right to Repair Bullshit
The System is Broken, Rants & Raves Kate Sjostrand The System is Broken, Rants & Raves Kate Sjostrand

3:00 A.M. and the Right to Repair Bullshit

Waking up at 3:00 a.m. has a way of stripping things down to their bones. No filters. No patience. Just clarity. Somewhere between insomnia and Instagram, I watched a politician pitch the so-called Right to Repair Act like it was liberation. It isn’t. It’s a dangerous sleight of hand that trades responsibility for regulation and calls it freedom.

Read More