If there’s one thing Q1 has shown me, it’s the strangely intricate beauty of pressure. Even writing that feels surreal, considering I’ve always avoided it. Growing up, my dad spoiled me, so I got used to having things go my way—pressure, of course, does the exact opposite. Because of that, I used to resent it whenever it showed up in work, church, my social life, or anywhere else. To me, happiness came from getting what I wanted.  But what if that’s not the whole truth? What

When Lauryn Hill asked, “How you gonna win when you ain’t right within?” in “Doo Wop (That Thing),”  she was speaking to something deeper than success. So much of our lives revolves around achieving—securing the dream job, building a family, buying a home. We all want to win. But I’m learning that winning isn’t limited to just what’s tangible.  Sometimes winning looks like doing the inner work: seeking God, going to therapy, choosing discipline over comfort, or finally bookin

“Ugly people just walking around with all these luxuries,” my brother said to me in a recent, lengthy conversation. No, he wasn’t referring to the physical ugliness of people. He was referencing the internal blemishes that people have inside and are quite comfortable with — sometimes unknowingly, and other times knowingly. And it got me thinking. Most of the things that we [humans] are pursuing are extrinsic. Whether it’s a new house, car, money, a promotion, traveling first

As I closed out 2025, I left many things behind. But there’s one concept I carried with me straight into the New Year: God is the whole point . It sounds basic, right? Let me cook.  About three years ago, I started creating gratitude jars. 2023 was an especially interesting year for me, particularly in my career. I was freshly navigating freelance life, praying desperately for God to bless me with a full-time editor position. It was hard. But somewhere along the way, I decide