I am the storm. And I am the calm before, during, and after it, too. Since I was a little kid, I have always been easily excitable. I am also able to remain extremely calm amidst chaos. When work gets crazy and stressful, it somehow activates a switch in me – I sink in deeper, … More Chaos and Calm As Dance Partners

This is a defining moment in our collective psyche. COVID-19 and these coming weeks and months (… years!?) are part of history. YOUR personal living history. And it’s still unfolding. The world, the universe, and the human race will never be the same. Sometimes this terrifies me. Right now, it excites me and lights a … More What Is Normal, Anyway?

How does seeing this image make you feel? I painted this on 12/6/17 in one of my first art notebooks before I started adding the date next to my signature. It is one of my favorite pieces of all time. Life is constantly changing and I am learning and growing so much all the time. … More Please Stay Home – I Do It, You Can Too

I’m doing the free 30-Day guided journey with Amber Rae to #JournalYourFeelings. Join me by clicking the link! Below is day 2’s prompt typed up so you don’t have to read my chicken scratch. Hey, Uncertainty, it’s me, Niki. You’re safe and welcome here. I’m here to listen. What are you trying to tell me? … More What “Uncertainty” Is Trying to Tell Me

I was window shopping while waiting to meet a friend for brunch and I saw this sign. It made me laugh instantly. I don’t need more “stuff,” so I kept browsing and killing time. Before I left, I decided I wanted it. I cracked some jokes with the owner of the small store and went … More Self-Talk

Happy International Women’s Day! Today is one of my favorite holidays, and this happens to be my 60th blog post. How serendipitous! Last year, I wrote about how my perspective on femininity deepened as I moved from childhood to adulthood. This year, I’d like to share about my expanding perspective on masculinity. Thanks to a … More We Rise Together

In these days after my first meet, I’ve been basking in this high and reflecting on my experiences. Like I did after my first backpacking trip, I wanted to document and capture some details while these experiences are still fresh in my mind. This is the second section of a two-part blog series. In part … More Olympic Weightlifting As A Way to Know Yourself

This weekend I competed in my first olympic weight lifting “meet” or competition. I would like to share some thoughts about the sport, my experiences through it, and how to apply the lessons to other areas of life. I wrote a pretty lengthy post after my first backpacking trip to document my experiences, and I … More First Olympic Weightlifting Meet: A Reflection

I handled a mountain of laundry today and came across this tank top. Love the pun, and love the message. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, and it can admittedly hold some… internal and external pressures, for the singles and coupled people out there. Shower your significant other with gifts and cards and stories to repost on … More “challenge” versus “invitation”

Whether or not I am aware of it, the timing of my life is perfect. I was driving to work tonight when I thought I saw some green lights in the sky out of the corner of my eye. It was very reminiscent of the shade of the Northern Lights in Iceland, and I thought, … More timing