Travel | Nine Cent Girl

For a multitude of reasons, this post from 2012 has been on my mind all week. Perhaps it is because I am once again reading and scoring AP essays (from home this year), or maybe because I love reminiscing about the beautiful city of Louisville, but I think it has more do with the need for civility in our discourse. Regardless of what ‘they’ are doing, I tell myself, we must continue to face the day with empathy, find our joy in creative outlets, and grant kindness where it is needed most. We must remain the country that our forefathers lived and fought and strived to be, but even more so, because we must now expand their vision to include all people. Read on my dear ones. Perhaps my words will encourage you, as you wake to yet another new day, to do so with more than hope that integrity will be restored before long.

On This New Day

I know, believe me, I know. It’s time to shed the old, discard the crap, defuse the judgement and forgive the trespassers. In fact, for every snake metaphor you can muster, today is the day to say goodbye to all of it. But there is a pile of stuff I plan to keep. Like treasured memories and my wonderful network of people along with hopes and dreams and aspirations and grit and imagination and a ton of love. But me too. Starting with my wild side. She’s been my main gal from forever. She doesn’t mind screaming with a zany recklessness. She’s impractical and unrealistic. She’s a stargazer. She’s at the top of my invite list headed into 2026. Sometimes she makes a mess, has a breakdown, gets absolutely sidetracked or even off track. But she’s never given up. She’s made this life the stunning vision it is, and I’m fairly certain, she’s going to keep charging forward through whatever comes next. So, here’s to being unabashedly every bit of me in the near and far future, while embracing the mountain of marvels and challenges ahead.