self-acceptance

We are all flawed. So lean into yourself — glory in your strengths, accept your weaknesses, realize that mistakes you’ve made are not dead-ends. Rather, they’ve led you to the beautiful person you are becoming.

Selfies are one of the easiest indicators of my mental health.

Of all the items that make up my workspace, it’s a picture of me holding a bunch of dandelions that never fails to put a smile in my heart. In this May 1979 picture, I carry an expression that’s nothing short of being as pleased as punch.

I’ve said I was “good,” “fine,” or “doing well” after crying for hours, lying in bed all day with no motivation, and even experiencing suicidal ideation. My worst days are when the temptation to mask my pain with a smile is the strongest.

When I’m in the company of family, my strongly held beliefs about positive body image, my carefully honed confidence that I am more than numbers on a scale, my uncompromising rebellion against the patriarchy and its arbitrary rules for women’s sexuality, crumbles into a fine dust that blows away with one heavy sigh.

Before I became a haunted house performer, I thought having my face touched was one of the creepiest things imaginable. But it wasn't the eerie set music or the beheaded baby dolls that changed my definition of scary. It was what went on in the green room.

Have you ever been on a seemingly endless road trip and asked yourself: "Am I there yet?" ...only to realize that your GPS says you have about eight more hours before your reach your destination? At that point, you probably felt like you were never going to reach the end of your journey, but even though you couldn't see the end point, you still kept going.

Now that I’ve turned 30 (and wear caftans) I’m done reading vapid click-bait offering prosaic advice. This is not one of those articles.