How Social Media Turned Self-Reflection Into a Performance

I used to think I was pretty good at self-reflection. I’d make a cup of tea, stare out the window, and let my brain wander down its own messy hallways. Sometimes I’d scribble in a journal—the kind with a battered cover and pages that smelled like old paper and forgotten plans. It was private, a […]

The Mirror Has a Share Button: When Self-Reflection Became Content

I caught myself the other day staring at a blank journal page, pen hovering, and my first thought wasn’t “What am I feeling?” It was “How would I caption this?” The moment was so perfectly, pathetically on-brand for my brain that I had to laugh. I was alone in my kitchen, wearing a sweater with […]

How Social Media Turned Self-Reflection Into a Publicity Stunt

I used to think I was a deeply introspective person. You know, the kind who stares out rain-streaked windows, journal in hand, pondering the big questions. Then I realized I’d just spent 45 minutes staging a single Instagram story about my “morning mindfulness routine” and hadn’t actually been mindful for a second. The candle was […]

How I Accidentally Turned My Quiet Life Into a Content Calendar

Last Tuesday, I sat down to journal for the first time in months. I had the whole scene set: a candle flickering, a mug of tea going cold, a fresh notebook open to the first page. Then I spent twenty minutes trying to figure out if my handwriting looked “aesthetic” enough to post on my […]