Okay, this is a bit of a tangent but stay with me. All the dots connect.
I recently discovered the work of Octavia Butler. For those who don’t know, she is quite literally the GOAT of sci-fi literature. An architect of the genre who published over a dozen books and reshaped what speculative fiction could be.
I was musing about her work on Threads and someone suggested I read her journals. So I did. And what struck me most was how often she wrote about money, alongside her goals, visions, and the life she was determined to build. She was dreaming boldly while worrying practically, something many of us know all too well.
She died in 2006, not particularly wealthy, and much of what we now call her “genius” was fully recognized after she passed.
Reading her work years later, as someone just being introduced to her brilliance, I felt an unexpected wave of grief that she left this world without fully receiving her flowers for what she gave it.
I don’t think it had ever truly occurred to me that I, too, could die with unrealized dreams.
I thought about my own journey. About how I labor here, on Substack and across these platforms, trying to offer hope, inspiration, honesty, and a little bit of fun to whoever might be watching.
I thought about how many creatives we only celebrate in hindsight. And almost never because they didn’t try, but because the world was slow to listen.
I do not want to die wishing I had tried harder or been braver. So if posting, sharing, or doing the thing feels cringey sometimes, I do it anyway hoping that at the very least it encourages one of you to chase your dreams too.
And maybe, just maybe, one of us, or all of us, will see it through. #castingcall #holidaybaking #bakeryowner
I hear the horror stories of paying $XXXX and only making $XX. Don’t get got because to a lot of these organizers, you are the come up 🤷🏽♀️ #marketsetup #popups #nyc
This tamale was a queso & espinaca (spinach) . The tamale cart is parked a few blocks from my apartment and I’ve tried their pollo mole and plantano which are both really good as well. #mexicanfood #tamales #streetfood
Part of my reasoning for leaving the U.S. was safety, especially in the area I was living in within Westchester County, New York. I constantly felt hypervisible and invisible at the same time. Drivers would disregard me as a pedestrian crossing the street to the point where I was nearly hit multiple times. The overwhelming presence of aggressive patriotism and the social climate around it made me deeply uncomfortable, and interactions with people often felt cold or openly tense.
Living like that wears on you over time.
I am more at ease in Mexico moving through daily life. I feel more relaxed in my body here than I did back in the U.S. but I’m always going to be aware and assertive when I need to be. That’s on being Glenn’s child and a 10 year New Yorker 😏 #livingabroad #mexicotravel #solotravel
I haven’t found a scale yet but between going to the gym 6x/week, no junk food, minimal sweet treats, walking, biking and sweating - I’m sure SOMETHING has happened 💪🏾 I feel GREAT! #livingabroad #travel #plussizefitness @shefit
I’ve been very concerned about Caviar not drinking enough water but it sounds like he drank quite a bit while I was stuffing my face 🤣 #mexicanfood #birriatacos #livingabroad
What do you call someone who pulls up wherever you are to support you, calls to check in, steals your clothes, shoes, and perfume, listens to your rants multiple times a day, and is a little obsessed with you?
A little friend 🤣 Happy Mother’s Day Mommi 💕
