May felt like a month of contradictions.

I spent part of it dealing with mental health ruts, anxiety about being hard to love, panic spirals around abandonment, and the uncomfortable realization that I might be the common denominator in some of my struggles. I also found myself confronting something deeper: the idea that I don’t have to be happy all the time to be worthy of love, belonging, or a good life.

At the same time, there were so many things I loved this month. New friendships. Book club. Fruit making its triumphant return to my diet. A surprisingly meaningful lesson from delayed trains. Learning what it feels like to genuinely like someone without confusing chemistry for compatibility. And slowly stepping into a softer version of myself that doesn’t feel responsible for protecting herself from everything.

In this month’ ...