— from a friend when I referred to myself as lil ol’ me 🥹 recency bias this was a couple of weeks ago…
Jan 3, 2025
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Who, me? :*)
May 18, 2024
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i know this is kind of a polarizing compliment to receive for some people but it's my personal favorite. I'm chill with the "you look healthier", "you look beautiful", etc etc but being told i look happier actually makes my whole week. this might just be a commonality among people in remission from mental health disorders but it feels so affirming. i like to think that when I'm happy, i radiate it from my smile, my eyes, and my skin. when I'm actually having a good day i can feel my joy touch the people around me and i can see it everywhere i go. i love being told i look happier because i really did previously radiate despair and anxiety. your emotions are laid out plainly in your expressions, the way you move, and even in your eyes. i don't believe in the whole "aura" thing but i think that might be the only comparison that makes sense in this context. i battled with my mental health since i was a toddler. I've been in therapy for 9 years and have been in active, intensive recovery for 5. i was in and out of the hospital and treatment facilities through all 4 years of high school. I've been unhappy for most of my life and it reflected easily in the way i carried myself and even the people i surrounded myself with. i look at pictures of myself when i was in high school, at my very lowest, and i can see the grief in my own eyes. now that I'm in college and am in remission for borderline personality disorder, i have begun to forge my own hopes, dreams, and sense of identity. it's a feeling that can't really be compared to anything but freedom. and when i look at pictures of myself now, i can see the warmth and hope in my eyes and the joy in my smile. people have told me i glow, but I've also been told i look happier. i ran into one of my high school counselors a while back on my college campus because he was there for an alumni event. he smiled at me and told me i looked happier, and i gave him a smile back. there was a consensus there that we reached, and i felt like we both understood the massive weight that was lifted off of my shoulders when i heard that compliment. it's a mutual understanding that despite everything, and even though he has no idea exactly what I've done to get here, he can sense a great shift in me that speaks much louder than words. i hold every one of those compliments very, very close to my heart.
Apr 18, 2025
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A recent compliment that was passed along to me from my bro’s partner that I met last week. Probably the best compliment and first-impression read I’ve ever received!
May 23, 2025
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My dad teases me about how when I was a little kid, my favorite thing to do when I was on the landline phone with somebody—be it a relative or one of my best friends—was to breathlessly describe the things that were in my bedroom so that they could have a mental picture of everything I loved and chose to surround myself with, and where I sat at that moment in time. Perfectly Imperfect reminds me of that so thanks for always listening and for sharing with me too 💌
Feb 23, 2025
May 28, 2025
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I’ve been thinking about how much of social media is centered around curating our self-image. When selfies first became popular, they were dismissed as vain and vapid—a critique often rooted in misogyny—but now, the way we craft our online selves feels more like creating monuments.
We try to signal our individuality, hoping to be seen and understood, but ironically, I think this widens the gap between how others perceive us and who we really are. Instead of fostering connection, it can invite projection and misinterpretation—preconceived notions, prefab labels, and stereotypes. Worse, individuality has become branded and commodified, reducing our identities to products for others to consume.
On most platforms, validation often comes from how well you can curate and present your image—selfies, aesthetic branding, and lifestyle content tend to dominate. High engagement is tied to visibility, not necessarily depth or substance. But I think spaces like PI.FYI show that there’s another way: where connection is built on shared ideas, tastes, and interests rather than surface-level content. It’s refreshing to be part of a community that values thoughts over optics.
By sharing so few images of myself, I’ve found that it gives others room to focus on my ideas and voice. When I do share an image, it feels intentional—something that contributes to the story I want to tell rather than defining it. Sharing less allows me to express who I am beyond appearance.
For women, especially, sharing less can be a radical act in a world where the default is to objectify ourselves. It resists the pressure to center appearance, focusing instead on what truly matters: our thoughts, voices, and authenticity. I’ve posted a handful of pictures of myself in 2,500 posts because I care more about showing who I am than how I look.
In trying to be seen, are we making it harder for others to truly know us? It’s a question worth considering.
Dec 27, 2024