I remember one night in Chicago, walking home after the gym. Cold wind, hoodie up, headphones in. I saw this girl at the crosswalk — exactly my type. Soft eyes. Latina. Cute as hell. She looked at me, then looked again. And I did nothing. I don’t know why that moment hit harder than others, but it did. I kept walking, but my chest started tightening. Not anxiety — shame. It wasn’t about her. It was about me. By the time I got to my apartment, the silence in my room felt louder than the street. I sat on my bed, shoes still on, and I remember thinking: “Why the fuck didn’t I go talk to her? What am I scared of?” And it was weird — because it wasn’t the fear of rejection. I’ve been rejected a hundred times. It didn’t kill me. It was something nastier. It was that I didn’t trust myself. I didn’t trust that I could handle the moment. Didn’t trust that I could say something real. Didn’t trust that I was enough in that exact state I was in. I kept playing out this fantasy in my head that I needed to be “on.” More charismatic. More confident. More put together. More something. And every time I waited for that “better version” of myself to show up, I abandoned the version that was actually here. That’s what hurt. It felt like leaving a younger version of me behind at the crosswalk while I walked away pretending it didn’t matter. But it did. It always did. The regret wasn’t from missing the girl. It was from betraying myself — again. And that night, I finally admitted it: I wasn’t scared of her reaction. I was scared of facing the part of me that didn’t feel worthy of being chosen. That realization fucking stung. But it also freed me. Because the thing I was running from wasn’t women — it was my own reflection in those moments. And once I decided to stop running… once I told myself, “Even if I stutter… even if I tremble… even if it’s messy… I’m still going,” That decision didn’t make me fearless. It made me honest. I literally shook my body out in place, like I was resetting my nervous system.

Make your day beautiful by just being grateful to be.

It's what you make it to become.

I pray upon awakening and make my bed once I get up and out of it. What about you?

Ever noticed how good it feels when someone really sees you, not just hears your words, but understands your energy? That’s the same magic behind every strong relationship… and even every thriving business or community. When we show up, stay consistent, and care a little deeper people remember us. Trust grows. And everything begins to shift. So here’s my question for you today: How do you make the people in your life feel seen and valued?