There is so much to who I am and where I came from, but I want to start with a few core aspects of myself and my perspective—things that shape both my life and my work, and the story of how I came to them. I used to believe discipline was the highest virtue. For much of my life, I measured myself by how hard I could push, how much I could achieve, and how little space I could take up. Recovery from an eating disorder shifted everything. It taught me to see value in pleasure, to follow what brings me joy, and to express myself in ways I never imagined. I began living beyond the rules I’d carried for years—learning to take up space, to play, to savor, and to feel proud of a life that’s wholly mine.

In the interest of helping you get to know me a bit more, here are some of the many things I take pleasure in: going to bed after a long day in the sun, getting dressed up to go to the theater, and finally beating my brothers in a family board game. I feel grateful to have learned to take pride and joy in the parts of life that are deemed “unproductive”—because those are often the moments that connect us most deeply to ourselves, to others, and to the beauty of simply being alive. For me, life feels fuller, softer, and far more meaningful when it’s not just about how disciplined we can be, but about how deeply we allow ourselves to enjoy it.