The Unofficial Guide to Being an Adult

Mental Health & Self-Worth

Essays on shame, anxiety, confidence, self-trust, and being kinder to yourself.

How to Support Someone Who Is Unemployed: What Helps vs. What Hurts

7 months. That's how long the third stint of my unemployment journey is lasting at the moment. I've been grateful to finally dip my toe into consulting, but so far these have been temporary opportunities, and I'm still y

Start reading

Featured essays

All essays in this topic

Includes every public migrated essay tagged with Mental Health & Self-Worth as a primary or secondary topic. Topic pages are still here for direct links, but the Essays archive is the main place to browse and filter.

May 9, 2024Mental Health & Self-Worth4 min read

Q&A - May 9 2024

As promised, back with another short Q&A based on some of the self-reflection questions asked by WNRS we're not really strangers. Today's questions revolve around my past, and how it…

February 12, 2024Dating & Heartbreak8 min read

Healthy Relationships

I reflect on my relationship experiences and share insights from my one-year anniversary with my girlfriend. I discuss the importance of being oneself in a relationship, the value of…

July 13, 2022Life Notes8 min read

Life Lately.

I figured I'd do a bit of a check in with how things have been going lately... spoiler alert, it's been a tough year. As some know, I was laid off at the beginning of the year when the food…

June 15, 2022Work, Ambition & Unemployment4 min read

This Blog Cost Me A Job

So this is something that I debated on writing about... but I feel like it would be an injustice not to highlight the issues with what happened. This blog cost me a job opportunity last…

June 5, 2022Boundaries4 min read

What Are Your Non Negotiables?

I've been quiet on here lately... so I figured it was time to do a little writing on a topic that I recently discussed with my therapist a few weeks back. We've been diving into my dating…

February 28, 2022Dating & Heartbreak10 min read

So, Love is pretty hard huh?

To set some expectations right off the bat... I'm not sure this piece is going to be anything but a bunch of my recent thoughts on dating and love. I typically try to write with purpose and…

February 17, 2022Mental Health & Self-Worth3 min read

Who Validates You?

So I had a mini-breakthrough yesterday after chatting with a friend of mine in the morning... I am constantly seeking external validation. The context of the conversation was actually in…

January 6, 2022Work, Ambition & Unemployment7 min read

So, I lost my job.

I took a gamble, and it didn't pay off. At the end of this past summer, I left my comfortable gig as Director of Marketing for a men's fashion brand and took the leap to become VP of…

January 4, 2022Purpose & Personal Growth6 min read

Sticking To Your Goals

So, it's the time of year again when most people are setting up resolutions that they will quickly give up a few weeks later. We've all done it. The new year comes around, we have this burst…

February 16, 2021Mental Health & Self-Worth6 min read

Being Honest With Ourselves

I've been thinking about this question for a little while now... so let me ask: why is it so hard for us to be honest with ourselves about what we want? A lot of us lie to ourselves in some…

February 4, 2021Dating & Heartbreak4 min read

Dealing with Breakups

Arguably one of the hardest things in life to deal with, heartbreak never really gets easier no matter how many times you go through it. Sure, you definitely learn what you like and what you…

January 14, 2021Work, Ambition & Unemployment7 min read

Work-Life Balance.

2020 brought a lot of lessons, with one being the importance of maintaining a proper work-life balance. Those of us who were fortunate enough to keep our jobs during the pandemic also found…

June 29, 2019Friendship & Family12 min read

I Love You.

I Love You. Three words that hold such a powerful meaning that can completely change someone's day. Completely uplift and make someone feel so wanted. Yet these can also be some of the three…

January 9, 2019Mental Health & Self-Worth17 min read

What Are You Afraid Of?

It's the beginning of 2019, so that means it's around that time of year when the 'new year, new me' motto comes back for about 3 weeks and then disappears until Jan 1 of next year…

February 14, 2017Friendship & Family3 min read

Nana.

Today's a day that I've been dreading for a while... my Nana finally passed away. It's been a mix of emotions this morning since reading a Facebook comment yes, I found out via a public…

March 25, 2015Purpose & Personal Growth3 min read

A letter to my younger self

Let's just get this out of the way now: things don't get easier. You currently spend your days going to school, eating junk food, and then coming home to watch Pokemon. Sometimes you make…

See this topic in the archive

Never miss out on a new essay

Get new essays and occasional behind-the-scenes commentary on the book progress. Sign up to get new essays straight to your inbox, in case you don't want to come to this website all the time.