Don’t Get Too Comfortable

Last Sunday, the visiting priest at my parish said something simple yet profound that changed the way I look at my life. He said that Jesus lives outside of our comfort zone and if we want to follow Him, we have to leave the safety net we've created for ourselves. As a comfort zone lover and…

Stop Trying to Be Perfect

I have a dangerous obsession with self-improvement. My go-to reading material is self-help books and articles that teach me how to eat better, pray better, feel better, and live better. I'm on a constant quest to be my best self, and while that's important for personal growth and achievement, it has never allowed me to…

You’re Not Wasting Your Best Years

I have a lot of existential crises--like, way too many. My most recent emotionally-charged mental breakdown was triggered when I saw the new sequel to "Mamma Mia!" this past weekend. I'm not even kidding. Mamma Mia, guys. In between jamming out to my all-time favorite ABBA songs (best feel-good music in the history of ever),…

Finding God in the Silence

I am a person who gets bored easily--with clothes, coffee flavors, people & places, stages of my life. I leave rooms too soon when nothing interesting is happening instead of waiting out the quiet for a shared moment to emerge. I flip channels like a cheetah and throw half-read books back on the shelf without…

That Sin You Can’t Shake

You know that one sin that always catches you in your best moments and causes you to fall again? That one that keeps showing up in every confession, or maybe that one you know you need to confess but you're too embarrassed to admit it? That one that makes you feel like you're not a…

How to Be Radiant

We all know "that girl"--the one we stalk on Instagram because she's always smiling in a field of sunflowers; the one we're desperate to meet up with for a life chat over coffee when our lives are feeling dull or complicated because she is wise and true; the one who lights up any room with…

Living in the Present

I've never been good at living in the moment; in fact, I'm terrible at it. Both a daydreamer and a planner, my mind is always drifting to possibilities, anxieties, goals, and visions of what my life will be like in 5, 10, even 20 years. Give me a window seat in a car on a…

Defying the Culture of Worthlessness

We live in a culture of constant comparison and superficiality in which our worth is defined by how beautiful, rich, or successful we are. The media has conditioned us to subconsciously objectify people we see in movies, on TV, on social media, and even in our everyday lives by reducing them to images for our…

Seasons of Loneliness

I spent the past 4 months studying abroad in the incredible city of Galway, Ireland, and though I had a great semester of fun adventures and friendships, I experienced a new road bump in my relationship with God: loneliness. It wasn't a similar feeling to the loneliness that I had ever experienced before, which usually…