Hopeful Aromantic

What do we do when we want to get closer to people but it just feels way too scary? All relationship building requires some degree of risk and uncertainty, and in order to navigate that, it requires us to befriend the fear we feel.

In this episode, we explore:

• Friction-Maxxing: Embracing discomfort for growth
• Vulnerability and taking small risks of rejection
• How to process fear instead of avoiding it
• Trust as the foundation for strong relationships
• Anarchist calisthenics: deliberate small acts of disobedience
• Being brave in the face of uncertainty

Books/Articles mentioned:

• In 2026, We are Friction-Maxxing, Kathryn Jezer-Morton
• Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make—and Keep—Friends, Marisa G. Franco
• Fighting for Our Friendships: The Science and Art of Conflict and Connection in Women’s Relationships, Danielle Bayard Jackson
• The Burnout Society, Byung-Chul Han
• The Short Instructional Manifesto for Relationship Anarchy, Andie Nordgren
• Two Cheers for Anarchism, James C. Scott

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call ⁠here⁠.

Let’s connect! @hopefularomantic on ig <3

We all know the phrase “if he wanted to, he would”, but how many times have we wanted to, and we didn’t? The reality is that our wants are shaped by the world we live in, and as much as we would like it to be, it’s never really all that simple.

There are journal prompts at the end of the episode to help you get more clear on what you want. Enjoy!

In this episode, we explore:

• Internet advice overload
• Desires, wants, and shoulds
• The vulnerability of desire
• The power of refusal
• Changing your paradigms
• The pursuit of “normal”
• How socialization shapes our desires

Books/Documents mentioned:

• "On Our Best Behavior", Elise Loehnen
• "Feminist Theory: From Margins to Center", bell hooks
• "The Short Instructional Manifesto for Relationship Anarchy", Andie Nordgren
• "Am I a Lesbian?", Angeli Luz

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call ⁠here⁠.

Have you ever met someone in a relationship with someone they don’t fully accept? What’s going on there? How do we end up in these situations and what do we do if we’re in one right now? Acceptance in all forms is foundational for healthy relationships and as always, it all starts with ourselves.

In this episode, we explore:

• The role of acceptance in relationships
• Dating projects and potential
• Understanding compatibility and compromise
• The process of getting to know someone
• Identifying non-negotiables in relationships
• Taking responsibility for your own feelings
• Navigating relationship conflict

Book mentioned:

• You Are the One You’ve Been Waiting For: Applying internal family systems to intimate relationships, Richard C. Schwartz

Download the core values discovery exercise.

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call ⁠here⁠.

What does it mean to do something in a performative way? How is that different from being authentic? and how can we tell the difference?

In this episode, we explore:

• The rise of performative behavior
• Understanding authenticity vs. performance
• The importance of discernment in relationships
• Intent vs. action
• Shifting internal beliefs for external change

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call ⁠here⁠.

Even when it feels like the odds are stacked against us, we still have choice and agency. Practicing the ability to find and cultivate hope is an essential skill, especially in today’s turbulent world.

In this episode, we explore:

• Survival states and how they limit our ability to see
• Capitalism as a force that restricts imagination
• Modern dating as a survival game
• Sustainable action and creation
• The importance of acting with intention
• Finding possibility and hope

Movie/Books mentioned:

• No Other Choice (2025), Park Chan Wook
• Capitalist Realism, Mark Fisher
• We Do This Til We Free Us, Mariame Kaba

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call ⁠here⁠.

In the beginning... there was nothing. And nothing is where everything is born. Welcome to the first episode of the Hopeful Aromantic podcast <3

In this episode, we explore:

• Redefining love and relationships
• Understanding emotional intimacy
• Aromantic and asexual identities as a paradigm
• Absence as a site of possibility
• Embracing space and stillness
• Surrender and letting go

Books mentioned:

• Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture, Sherronda J. Brown
• Ending the Pursuit: Asexuality, Aromanticism, & Agender Identity, Michael Paramo
• Absence, Byung-Chul Han

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call here.