Nobody warned me that motherhood would fundamentally transform my creative process. The change was not limited to time or energy, as I had expected. Instead, the very quality of my creativity shifted. The urgency of making things changed, and so did my capacity for patience. I am still unraveling which aspects of this transformation deserve my gratitude.

I was unprepared for how abruptly my tolerance faded. My impatience was not with the work itself, but with work that lacked meaning. Before motherhood, I could maintain a creative practice that included projects I did not fully believe in: exploratory pieces, obligatory tasks, work created out of expectation, or from a lack of confidence to say no.

There are mornings when I wake up, and I can’t explain my mood. I don’t feel bad, I don’t feel good, I just feel indifferent. My thoughts feel heavier, or brighter, or slightly out of place, depending on the mood. And somewhere in the middle of brushing my teeth or making breakfast, I realize that my desire to create that day feels different, too. I know when I am in a great mood because I am typically full of ideas, and I know exactly how I want my day to flow from a creative standpoint. But when my mood is indifferent, the ideas don’t flow the same way. The inspiration isn’t as loud. My mind isn’t as open. I used to brush these days off as “off days,” but the more I pay attention, the more I understand that creativity rarely moves without reason. Something inside me is speaking. The question is whether I’m listening.

I can still remember sitting at my desk one night after another twelve-hour day, eyes burning from staring at my laptop for so long. I was revising a client’s brand strategy deck. The number of edits the deck had undergone exceeded our initial agreement, but I didn’t have the courage to decline. When the project finally ended, they thanked me warmly but never paid the final balance. I reached out multiple times, but when I got no response, I just let it go and didn't even chase the money. I thought about blasting them online, but what good would that do? I honestly just wanted to move on.

When I received my PTSD diagnosis in early April of this year, I didn’t expect it to unravel me the way it did. Since the Fall of 2024, I had been moving through months of uncertainty and stress that slowly compounded until I no longer recognized myself. I was constantly on alert, running on little sleep, my body storing memories my mind didn’t know how to process. I kept telling myself things would settle, that I just needed a break. But the breaks never came. I had been navigating a season of exhaustion, emotional, physical, and spiritual. I thought maybe it was just a case of burnout. But my body was holding on to months of trauma, harassment, and constant vigilance; it slowly began to shut down in ways I couldn’t explain. I wasn’t just tired; I was terrified. My nervous system was shot, stuck in a state of survival mode.

It started with a candle I had been saving for weeks. Not a particularly rare one, but special enough to sit untouched underneath the console table since my birthday this past March. My friend gifted me a personalized Le Labo candle for my birthday. Its scent reminded me of the kind of feeling I yearn for, quite literally, all the time. It smelt like a partly cloudy summer afternoon, it was a calming fragrance that I couldn’t get enough of. I told myself I’d light it on a special day. Maybe after I finally caught up on sleep, after the housekeeper cleaned, after I felt more like myself. For weeks, it waited, and I found many excuses. For weeks, I waited too.

The first time I cried while folding laundry, it wasn’t because I was sad. It was because I finally felt safe.

The housekeeper had just departed a couple of hours before. The house was quiet. The dryer hummed softly, and my son was somewhere down the hall humming along with a show he’s watched a dozen times. But inside of me, there was quiet. No rush to get to the next thing. No guilt that I wasn’t using this time “better” or to be more productive. Just me, my hands, warm cotton, and breath. I remember thinking, so this is what peace in the body feels like. And then the tears came.

I can’t quite describe the feeling that arises when you finally realize the life or business you’ve built is no longer in alignment with the version of you that you’re becoming. The interesting part in this realization is that no one else can see it but you. From the outside, everything seemed to be working. The brand was evolving. Opportunities were flowing. I was creating, sharing, and showing up. But on the inside, something felt like it was slipping, undeniably out of rhythm.

A shift happens when you become a mother, a reckoning almost. No one truly prepares you for when your reflection feels unfamiliar or the long, winding path back to yourself. It’s been three and a half years, and I still feel like I am finding my way back. It’s not a return in the traditional sense. It’s a reintroduction. A reawakening. A quiet unfolding of the woman you’re becoming after crossing the threshold of birth and transformation.

We’ve all been there, staring at a closet bursting at the seams, a desk buried under stacks of paper, or a mind racing with endless to-do lists. Clutter isn’t just about the physical mess; it affects our mindset, energy, and ability to be present. When life feels overwhelming, it’s often because we carry too much physically, mentally, and emotionally. The end of February was challenging for me. It was like one day I woke up and had a million and one things I wanted to accomplish, but I couldn’t quite find the balance to get it all done. The energy and overwhelm I carried at the end of last month inspired this post.

This month in The Edit, I’ll explore love in all its forms—self-love, love through creativity, relationships, and expression. Love is often celebrated as the emotion that binds us to others but is also a catalyst for creativity. Whether it’s love for a person, a passion, or a purpose, this deep and universal feeling has the power to inspire art, drive innovation, and foster authentic self-expression. Love has been at the heart of creative expansion for decades, from history's greatest artists to modern-day entrepreneurs. In this exploration, we’ll uncover how love serves as a source of creativity, how to channel it into your work, and why self-love is essential for overcoming creative blocks.

Total Read Time: 4 min 48 sec

It may be just me, but more and more, connecting with others these days feels rooted in inauthenticity and lack of reciprocity. I am sure we’ve all had an experience or two when we’ve invested energy into relationships that feel one-sided or transactional, where the effort isn’t mutual. Between social media "likes" and the occasional "thinking of you" text, it’s no wonder many of us feel more isolated than ever. I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to pause, dig deeper, and allow ourselves to connect with others on a more intentional level. 

Total Read Time: 4 min 51 sec

Starting a brand from scratch or figuring out the next step in your rebranding can feel like the most intimidating thing in the world. There are so many paths you could take and so many brand directions for you to go in. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the endless options and external influences telling you what you should do.

In my years of experience, I’ve discovered that finding the right direction for your brand doesn’t have to be complicated. It just requires intention and a deep sense of clarity throughout the planning process.