blogs, essays, & musings

Originally published on Happy & Polly: https://happyandpolly.com/blogs/cat/six-reasons-i-credit-my-cat-as-my-business-partner I run two small businesses — Cléo’s Collective (for music licensing and creative services), and Blessed by Cléo (for miniature pet portraits and painted jewelry!) — and...

Originally published by Happy & Polly: https://happyandpolly.com/blogs/cat/6-areas-of-life-my-cat-has-improved When I met Cléo at our local cat cafe and fell in love, I knew bringing her into my life would be beneficial — I knew she would keep me company, and I knew the routine and...

I often get stuck. Stuck in between getting up and staying in bed. Between doing the dishes and not. Between taking a break and pushing forward. For a long time, I’ve gotten myself unstuck by relying on anxiety, shame, and negative self-talk. I have to get up because if I’m late to school,...

I closed Twitter on my phone and opened up my text messages. I tapped on the group chat with my parents and brothers, and just to see how it would feel, I typed out, “I’m bisexual & it’s Bi Visibility day, so there’s that. :)” I stared at the message I’d composed for a while, then smiled to...

In high school, I was Managing Editor of our student newspaper, Spilled Ink, for three years. I managed a team of ~15 writers, edited and tracked progress of ~40 stories per month, and was on staff the year Spilled Ink was inducted into Colorado Student Media Association’s hall of fame along with...