rambling.

This one came out of a sick day with nowhere to be and a head full of mucus and thoughts. Something about being that kind of sick — the weird, floaty kind — makes everything go quiet and the brain goes somewhere else entirely. I ended up thinking a lot about change, about the trip I just got back from, about hobbies that never stick and the ones that somehow do. In complete honesty, I don't have answers to any of it. Just thinking out loud.00:00 Intro02:44 Nostalgia06:53 What could have been23:23 Conclusion

Nine months ago I signed up for a swing dancing class mostly just to get out of my apartment. In complete honesty, I did not expect it to change the way I carry myself in public. This episode is me trying to explain what partner dancing actually is, why I think it's one of the more quietly meaningful things a person can do, and why I think the discomfort of it is kind of the whole point. It doesn't always feel easy to put yourself out there like that — but something about it just sticks with you.

Being alone is hard. Building community from scratch is harder. This one's about why I think "finding" friends is actually the wrong frame — and what I've been doing instead since I moved here with basically nobody. In complete honesty, it took a lot of trial and error, some intentional loneliness, and eventually a dance studio and an improv class to figure any of this out. I'm not sure I have it all figured out. But I think I'm getting somewhere.00:00 Intro01:08 Personal Updates04:01 Building Community25:37 Conclusion

I've never been on social media — and that's a choice I made when I was 14. This episode starts there, but it goes somewhere else pretty quickly. The real thing I've been sitting with is that envy and distraction aren't a social media problem. They're a us problem. That's either discouraging or freeing depending on how you look at it. I think it's both, honestly. Glad you're here.00:00 Introductions03:36 Social Media20:55 Conclusion