@Amanda Connell Over the past two weeks I saw a lot of communities (many led by women) playing the game of create glamor photos with AI. I played along with one just to see how it works. After all, I do love tech. But when the first photo came out it looked nothing like the me I see myself as. The prompt said don't change the face but do add makeup, make the hair pretty and all the other things that many of us have been conditioned to think of as beauty and therefore worth. I hated the photo so much I refused to post it. But I did post the original "just me" selfie that the photo was based on. Then said why the glamor photo was just not what I was comfortable with. The whole experience made me think if you and the lovely conversations we had while doing our AI Ethics homework. Some see it as just a bit of fun and no harm. But I would argue that yes it is fun to play with the tech, but why do we feel the need to play with the tech in that way. So many women in the group I am talking about have never posted a photo of themselves before because they did not feel like they were enough just as they are. But this did post a AI enhanced version. I feel like there is some subtle shame in this game because it leads to the thought that we have to do the glamor shots and be something other than the regular us to be seen and valued.

Happy New Year, Beautiful Souls! 🎊 As we step into this new year, I can already see and feel the energy shifting to goal setting, changing, transformation, you name it. From goal setting, gym memberships, dieting, money makeovers, wellness practices, "New Year, New You" mentality, it's already gearing up. It's a great selling point, right? Companies banking on the shame women feel at this time of year and then they capitalize on it. Ugh. I just want you to know that's NOT what happens here. 💗 So, while I personally have a love/hate relationship with goal setting (more on that story later on!), before you make any big plans for the year, I'm inviting you to pause and ask yourself, "where is this desire coming from?" Is it coming from a place of shame? From a voice whispering that you're not good enough right now? That you're broken and in need of fixing? Just notice. When we create goals from that place, we put enormous pressure on ourselves to change and I don't know about you, but I really don't enjoy that. So I'm doing something different this year and I'm going to share a little bit with you now to get started. Instead of shaming myself into creating change (which we know doesn't creating long-lasting, sustainable change anyways) I'm going to get curious! I'm going to ask myself: - How am I really feeling right now? - What am I experiencing in this moment? - What are my true desires—beneath the noise of what I think I "should" want? You might be surprised by what comes up for you! This year, let's unshame our desires! Let's listen to what our bodies, hearts, and spirits are actually asking for—not from a place of not-enoughness, but from a place of deep wisdom and self-knowing. Welcome to 2026. Welcome to a year of curiosity, compassion, and unshaming. ❤️‍🔥 xo, Amanda