Why content creators need to take a break — I found YouTuber Safiya Nygaard in 2019 when I watched unboxing videos instead of shopping for things. Her style haul unboxing video popped up and made me laugh. I dove into her archive and developed a crush on this beautiful, smart, badass YouTuber. Safiya Nygaard is quirky and gothic simultaneously…

And Eddie Vedder’s 1992 MTV Unplugged performance enhances the lustful eroticism of the song — Rob Janicke, Riff co-editor, recently wrote about Pearl Jam’s sophomore album, Vs., which inspired me to give Pearl Jam’s debut album, Ten. …

Move on over Zoom, or…? — During the beginning of the 2020 global pandemic, I was recovering from a personal mental health crisis. In March of 2020, many things saved me; one of them was writing. I also gained immense support from a virtual writing group that started organically through Instagram and Zoom. It was one…

There’s physical therapy for that — I threw on leggings and a loose shirt, slid on loafer-style shoes, grabbed my keys and coffee, and headed to my first ever Physical Therapy appointment. I would’ve never guessed it would occur at age 42 and be for my vagina. The crowded office burgeoned with people of all ages…

Fiction Friday — part 12 — “I’m heading to L’Esperanza. Hope you have a good day, Gaby,” Aleks plants a sweet kiss on her cheek. Her gaze is set on the glass jar on the windowsill. The strange jar with the key she discovered earlier this year, when things started becoming strange and stranger. “Bye, babe…

This is not a story of instant success — Happy 3-Month-Medium-Anniversary to Me!!!* I’ve been avoiding writing anything Medium related since I joined under the paid program on April 27, 2020. …

On finding your inner nature compass — Recently, I have begun embracing my ability to intuit Nature. I intuit Nature to understand better myself, my mission, and my place in the world. I intuit Nature as a way of sharing profound experiences with friends and family. I intuit Nature to share what I have learned in my…

How a pelvic floor therapy device is making Kegels fun — *While I discuss the Perifit specifically, I am not an affiliate, though there are affiliate programs available. This is the pelvic floor trainer device I ended up purchasing and I think many other women benefit from knowing about it. Men and women, but twice as many women as men, experience…

Another disturbing story of whitewashing and unfair compensation for minority workers — “Kim’s Convenience” has been in the news this week, not because its final season was released, but because some of the Korean-Canadian actors finally feel they can express their grievances against the show being racist and non-inclusive. I didn’t know that until after I binged Season 5 on Netflix. In…

Poetry Sunday — Size 0 stock models litter my image searches. Whoever assigned zero to women’s clothes, and, therefore, women — What size are you? I’m a zero — has another thing coming, but this poem isn’t for the zero women. It’s for women like you and me — the twelves and twenties, frizzy-haired women, greying-haired…