Playa Mujeres, Mexico | October 2025 | @shepmic
Deceptively smooth coconut trees, appliance threats, brush head art, of course rainbows, iguanas and kiskadees galore, never got a photo of the grey foxes or coatis (shout out to the woman that literally hurled her body across a deck to get away from a fox), and a moment of silence for the absolute worst gluten free pizza I’ve ever seen in my entire life however I did appreciate the laugh.
Thank you again to Micah for being THE MOST delightful travel buddy. I love you with my entire heart.
Happy 2nd Birthday to the sweetest, cuddliest, craziest, most athletic 3-legged wonder dog there is (he can swim too, folks!) Thanks for catching all my tears, and having dance parties with me. May we all live life with the same passion (or maybe a little less) that you chase squirrels with.
Tad is now safe at home and healing. Still have a long road ahead of us, but the biggest hurdle is done and we are cuddling and napping and eating all the treats! Texas A&M Veterinary Hospital was INCREDIBLE. Thank you all for your love and support through this. I am so grateful and I know Tad is too! Now let’s go get Breonna Taylor’s killers! SIGN THIS: CALL THIS: 502-735-1784 (there are instructions on the site)(it’s easy to do and makes a huge difference)
This is Tadpole “The Triforce” Shepard (he has 3 awesome legs) and this wasn’t quite how I imagined making the announcement that I adopted a dog, but I did, and he’s in the ER for emergency heart surgery. If you have a second to send him some positive thoughts/vibes/prayers, that would be great. He’s the kind of dog my vet said “I won the lottery” and the cardiologist asked if she could adopt him, because he’s just that sweet and upbeat. I’m really scared for my new best friend, but the very first thing I was told about him is his resiliency and I believe that. Plus, I’m just not ready to say bye. C’mon Tad! You can do it buddy! 🐕❤️🙏🏻
Hello Social Media! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I needed a nice long break from you. Having to be on these platforms all day everyday for work was exhausting and the idea of presenting perfection has always been a huge struggle of mine. There are years in life that shape and change you. This has been the biggest one since coming out, and with this being the mark of a new decade, it feels appropriate to open up on here as well. I have always struggled with vulnerability, chalk it up to the little gay son of a minister hiding/changing/disguising behaviors to pass without being called MicahGay or faggot or trying to pretend some of his dad’s sermons weren’t about this “awful piece of him” he couldn’t share with anyone; showing people whatever they needed to see to keep me safe. Follow all that up moving to one of the most intense cities in the world at 19, working in industries that constantly tell you you’re not good enough or the “right fit”. Those fears, behaviors, insecurities, have haunted me for years without me even realizing to what extent, and I finally saw them and started fighting for myself. I’ve been doing a lot of battling, which has led to a lot of healing/growth, but they don’t call them growing pains for nothing. I’m getting to know the Micah I put away and finding he’s pretty great - not at all the abomination or inconvenience I was told he was. All of this fear, shame, and trauma didn’t come without some adult consequences though.
You’ll see a handsome fella in quite a few of the photos from the past year, for those of you that don’t know him, that’s Willy. I was lucky enough to call him my boyfriend through most of the year. Though things from my past I hadn’t sorted through reared their ugly head and we both struggled with the best way to communicate our fears in the relationship. My fear of opening up to anyone was more significant than I had ever thought, so much so, I closed up and ran. I say all this, because if you are like me and find fear in the intimate spaces, get to work. There is healing, there is strength you will find in being yourself and letting those walls down.
