I want this to be the year I permanently stop letting dead dreams and expired expectations take up space in my life — When I was a teenager, I used to have this really unsettling, disturbingly realistic recurring dream about living in a huge house that was not only falling apart but full of malicious ghosts. However, the ghosts were very selective about the parts of the house they haunted. The bottom floor…

Well, I guess you’ll never assure someone else like you that they’re not alone, either — The other day, I was jacking around on Quora and decided to write an answer to a particular life choice-themed question that rolled through my feed. It was aimed at people over 40, asking whether we ever regretted whatever choice we’d ultimately made about having children versus not having them. …

Because it can be a game-changer for creatives willing to explore the possibilities, writers included — These days, most people who know me probably know me best because I write like the damn wind, and with good reason. …

I mean that figuratively, mostly, but not entirely — When I was a little girl, I had what you’d call a love/hate relationship with my body, but not the way you might be thinking. I wasn’t one of those kids who’s already scrutinizing their reflection in the mirror, looking for things to hate. No, I wasn’t the biggest fan…

Things aren’t OK out there, and I can’t just pretend that they are. — I live in Monterey, California, just a few blocks away from the very stage where Jimi Hendrix burnt his guitar onstage at the Monterey Pop Festival. The famed Monterey Jazz Festival is currently taking place right down the street at the very same venue. …

A Celestial Fable of Endings and Beginnings — They say it’s always dark at the end, but the same can almost always be said of beginnings. Starts and finishes are, after all, like mismatched twins that don’t quite get along and hate hearing how similar they are to one another. …

So I’d just as soon focus on how I made my loved ones feel while I was still here. — Until about a month ago, I’d never had surgery. I’d never even been to the emergency room unless I was accompanying someone else for moral support and to make sure they got there safely. But I knew that was probably going to change when I developed a deep, nagging pain…

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth having or pursuing. — Everybody grew up on the idea that successful relationships last “until death do you part.” …

Even though it may not always feel that way, it’s a strength, not a weakness. — My brother and I didn’t have the kind of parents who liked doing “kid things” with us when we were still growing up. They were especially averse to sitting through kid-appropriate movies, like cartoons or family films. …