Just Breathe Confessionals

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Moving into a house we built together? Exciting.

Actually packing up five years of apartment life? Not so much.

In this Between Breaths bonus episode, I'm sharing the chaos of moving as an adult—from cardboard boxes and clothes that definitely aren't fitting again to finally escaping the downstairs neighbor who apparently believes 2 a.m. is the perfect time for loud movies, music... and everything else.

It's funny, a little sentimental, and a reminder that sometimes we're not just packing up our stuff—we're letting go of old versions of ourselves, too.

Welcome to Between Breaths.

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School breaks are supposed to be relaxing...

So why do I somehow end up at the movie theater every single time?

In this Between Breaths bonus episode, I'm sharing how a few Facebook memories made me realize I've accidentally created a tradition of spending every school break at the movies. From Cinemark rewards and way too much popcorn to the movies filling my year—and yes, the inevitable tears before the credits roll—this episode is all about one of my favorite little routines.

It's lighthearted, a little nostalgic, and a reminder that sometimes the best traditions are the ones we never meant to start.

Welcome to Between Breaths.

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Nobody ever handed us a rulebook for becoming a woman.

Somehow, though, we still learned one.

In this episode of Just Breathe Confessionals, I'm reflecting on the invisible lessons so many of us pick up without ever realizing it—from carrying an emergency alarm and texting when we get home, to apologizing before we speak, smiling so other people feel comfortable, and wondering who decided these were the rules in the first place.

Along the way, I talk about Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., Pleasantville, growing up, body image, safety, and the quiet expectations that shape us long before we know they're there.

Because maybe growing up isn't about following the script we've been handed.

Maybe it's about realizing we're allowed to rewrite it.

Welcome to Just Breathe Confessionals.

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For the longest time, I thought I had to have my future figured out.

I thought college was supposed to lead to one specific career, one specific dream, and one specific version of success. But life had other plans.

In this episode, I'm sharing how my journey from high school to audio engineering college, the dreams that changed along the way, and the paths I never expected ultimately led me to a life I'm proud of. We'll talk about the pressure of junior and senior year, discovering my love for sound, the reality of working in the audio industry, and why I'm finally okay with the fact that my life doesn't look the way seventeen-year-old me imagined.

Sometimes the future we think we're building isn't the one we end up living—and maybe that's exactly how it's supposed to be.

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Life doesn't always follow the schedule I planned.

In this first Between Breaths mini episode, I'm sharing where I've been over the last few weeks after an unexpected loss turned life upside down. From navigating grief and supporting the people I love to a drive that almost became a trip to the beach, this is an honest check-in about the messy, human moments that happen between the bigger stories.

I also share a series of strange coincidences—a dog, a musical, and a movie character who all shared the same name as someone I had just lost—and why those moments brought unexpected comfort during a difficult season.

The next full episode is coming. But for now, this is where I am.

Between breaths.

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For this episode of Just Breathe Confessionals, I’m talking about the place that became my home away from home: theatre.

Before it was posters, productions, sound design, or helping with musicals and plays… it was the first place where I truly felt like I belonged. The place that let me exist exactly as I was.

In this episode, I’m reflecting on growing up through theatre, discovering my love for storytelling and sound, and the teachers and mentors who helped shape me into who I am today. From watching productions as a student to eventually coming back and becoming part of the program in a completely different way, this episode is really about what happens when a place changes your life forever.

I talk about finding acceptance, building relationships with students, creating posters for productions that get hung up around town, and the surreal feeling of realizing I’ve slowly become the kind of person my teachers once were for me.

And now this year, I’m watching the first class of students I’ve worked with since starting at Folsom High School Theatre graduate — which feels impossible and beautiful all at once.

This episode is about belonging. Creativity. Mentorship. Growing up. And the people and places that quietly become part of who we are forever.

So wherever you’re listening from today… thank you for being here. And as always, just breathe.

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Some grief doesn’t come with a funeral. It shows up years later when you realize you’ve been mourning a parent who is still alive, and that the “mom you needed” might never have existed the way you hoped. We go gently but honestly into that complicated reality, with a content warning for self-harm, mental health, and childhood trauma.

We talk about what it’s like to grow up around mood shifts, hospital stays, and quiet emergencies that teach a kid to become hyperaware of tone and danger. We unpack the survival skills that can look like strength from the outside while costing you peace on the inside: staying careful, smoothing things over, hiding the truth, and telling “survival lies” to protect the family’s image. We also share the kind of memories that end childhood early, when you stop feeling like the kid and start feeling responsible for everyone else, especially younger siblings.

As adults, relationships with emotionally unsafe parents can be a tug-of-war between love, exhaustion, loyalty, fear, and guilt. We name the stomach-drop feeling when their name pops up, and we say it clearly: that reaction doesn’t make you cruel or ungrateful. It makes you someone who lived through something painful. We end with a path forward that’s messy but real: learning to self-soothe, setting boundaries, putting down the weight of other people’s emotions, and becoming the steady, nurturing, safe person you needed.

If any of this hits close to home, listen, share with someone who might need it, and leave a review so more people can find this kind of honest support.

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Thirty is supposed to feel like a finish line, right? Stable, certain, grounded, credits rolling. Instead, I’m here almost 31 after a weird chain of events, including getting T-boned by a golf cart at work and then losing two weeks to a brutal respiratory cold, and I can’t stop thinking about how hard we are on ourselves when life doesn’t follow the plan.

I talk honestly about the gap between the “movie version” of my future and what real adulthood looks like: being divorced (something I’ve kept quiet), feeling kidless and off-schedule, and trying to build a house with my boyfriend where every choice comes with budgets, timelines, and emotional weight. If you’ve ever wondered why big decisions still feel messy, expensive, and uncertain, you’re not alone.

We dig into the pressure of societal expectations and the invisible life timeline that so many of us live under, especially women. The questions, the announcements, the scrolling, the sense that everyone else is ahead. Then I offer the reframe that’s been keeping me steady: life isn’t a race, it’s chapters. Detours and plot twists don’t mean you’re late, they might be shaping you.

If you’re feeling behind in life, turning 30 with anxiety, starting over after divorce, or questioning your career and relationship timeline, take a breath with me. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find the reminder that different doesn’t mean wrong.

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In this final episode of Season One, I’m taking a moment to pause and reflect on what this season really was.

Breathing Through It All is about survival, honesty, and the quiet courage it takes to press record before you feel ready. It’s about telling stories that lived inside me for a long time — imperfectly, slowly, and without having all the answers.

This season wasn’t about fixing anything.
 It was about giving myself permission to speak.
 To let things be messy.
 To trust my voice, even when it shook.

In this episode, I talk about what creating this podcast asked of me, what I learned along the way, and why healing doesn’t happen all at once — it happens in layers. I also speak directly to you, the listener — whether you’ve been here since the beginning, or you’re just finding this space now.

If this season felt familiar…
 If you listened quietly, paused halfway through an episode, or saved one for when you were ready — that all counts.

Season One was about survival.
 About origins.
 About telling the stories that shaped me before I knew how to name them.

Season Two will be about becoming.

Thank you for listening.
 Thank you for holding space.
 And until next season — just breathe.

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What if the hardest part of healing isn’t leaving the past, but unlearning the voice it left behind? We open the most tender chapter of the Love series to explore how self-doubt takes root, why shrinking feels safe, and how to rebuild a self that no longer asks permission to exist. This is an honest look at body image after criticism, the quiet discipline of self-respect, and the relief of love that doesn’t require you to be less.

I share the moment I stopped being on my own side and the small habits that kept me there: apologizing for everything, editing my laugh, and choosing “easy” over honest. From there, we dig into the lingering effects of one comment about weight that rewired my relationship with my body. Instead of forcing confidence, I talk through learning to see my body as a record of survival—scars from surgery, a tiny mark in my eyebrow, stretch marks that arrived when life got heavy—and how those signs are proof of endurance, not flaws. We also unpack a healthier model of love: kindness that isn’t confusing, being seen without fear, and a partner who doesn’t fix you but stands beside you while you define yourself.

If you’ve ever tried to perform self-love and felt like a fraud, this conversation offers another path: self-love as discipline, a daily choice you make when no one’s cheering. You’ll hear practical reframes for catching old reflexes, turning down inherited voices, and choosing gentler language on hard days. We close the Love chapters not with perfection, but with a release—no more carrying old stories into new seasons. Subscribe, share with someone who needs softer self-talk today, and leave a review to tell me: what voice are you turning down next?