For me, it comes down to a simple belief: if something I no longer need can give someone else more time, more birthdays, more ordinary mornings with the people they love, then that feels like the right choice. I’ve seen enough of life to know how fragile it is, and how much difference one act of generosity can make.
I don’t think of it as a grand gesture. It’s more like leaving the light on for someone who’s still on their way home. If my life can help someone else continue theirs, even after I’m gone, that feels like a meaningful way to leave the world a little better than I found it.
I want to turn this into a full post and possibly develop a better prompt than the daily ones. These won’t be daily, but I’ll do them whenever I can.
What is your greatest regret?
My greatest regret is how long I spent shrinking myself to make other people comfortable. For years, I said yes when I wanted to say no, stayed quiet when something hurt, and tried to be whatever someone else needed instead of who I really was. I thought that being easy, flexible, and low‑maintenance made me lovable. I didn’t realize I was slowly disappearing in the process.
I regret the moments when I ignored my own voice because I didn’t want to upset anyone. I regret the times I let people take more than they ever gave, and I told myself it was fine. I regret how often I chose peace on the outside while creating chaos inside myself.
But the deeper truth is this: my regret isn’t about the past itself. It’s about the years I didn’t know I deserved better—from others, and from myself. I wish I had learned sooner that my needs weren’t a burden, my feelings weren’t “too much,” and my boundaries weren’t something to apologize for.
Still, even with that regret, I’m grateful. Because all those moments taught me what I will no longer accept. They taught me how to listen to myself, how to speak up, and how to stop abandoning the person I’m supposed to protect most—me.
“Leaders never use the word failure. They look upon setbacks as learning experiences.” – Brian Tracy
“Even an octopus has three hearts, and one of them stops when it swims — a reminder that not everything is meant to move fast.”
Who is your hero of fiction?
Beth March is my hero of fiction because she represents a kind of bravery that rarely gets celebrated — the courage of someone who has spent her life pleasing others, slowly learning that her own presence, desires, and voice matter too.
She begins as the quiet peacekeeper, the one who smooths the edges, absorbs the tension, and tries to make the world softer for everyone else. But her arc isn’t about becoming loud or dramatic. It’s about becoming seen. It’s about recognizing that gentleness isn’t the same as self‑erasure, and that a tender heart is not a weakness but a way of moving through the world with intention.
Beth teaches that you can be kind without disappearing, loving without losing yourself, and generous without giving away the parts of you that you need to keep. Her quiet rebellion — choosing to matter in her own life — is a form of heroism I deeply admire.
“We become what we think about” – Earl Nightingale
BÉALÁISTE is an Irish word for drink or toast to seal a bargain
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
I identify with Eleanor Roosevelt—someone who started out unsure of her place, but grew into a voice of strength, compassion, and conviction. She learned to stop living in the shadows and began shaping the world around her. I relate to that evolution: finding my voice, trusting it, and using it with intention.
“When one door closes, sometimes we need to turn the knob to open another…” – J.A. Tran
In 2020, Parasite (2019) became the first South Korean film to win any Oscar, not to mention best picture. It was also the first Asian motion picture in highest honor.
What is your most marked characteristic?
My most marked characteristic is my quiet perception — the instinctive way I read a room and feel its emotional shifts before anyone speaks.
“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”— Vince Lombardi
Gray foxes are North America’s only canine species that regularly climb trees.
What is your favorite occupation?
My favorite occupation is creating — writing, reflecting, and shaping my inner world into something clear, honest, and expressive. I also love working with children, and the two go hand in hand for me. Being around kids keeps me curious, imaginative, and open, and my creativity helps me connect with them in meaningful, authentic ways. Together, they make me feel most like myself.
“Let us make our future now and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.” – Malala Yousafzai
Because the pressure buildup can be so intense, holding in a sneeze can damage blood vessels, rupture an eardrum, or even cause a person to have an aneurysm.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
The lowest depth of misery is feeling invisible while still being expected to show up — when you’re giving everything you have, but your needs, your voice, and your humanity go unnoticed. It’s the quiet kind of suffering where you disappear in plain sight.
“The best way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” ― Walt Disney
Laurence Oliver, the star of the 1948 film adaptation of Hamlet, was almost forty-one when the film premiered. Actress Eileen Hurley, who played his mother Gertrude, was 30.
What is your most treasured possession?
My most treasured possession is my inner clarity — the part of me that can tell the truth about what I feel, what I need, and what matters. It’s the compass I’ve built slowly, through reflection, honesty, and unlearning old patterns. Everything else in my life shifts, but that inner knowing is the one thing I carry that can’t be taken from me.
Note: (Trying something new with the size of the images. Let me know which looks better. The ones here are the bigger images.)
“Leaders set high standards. Refuse to tolerate mediocrity or poor performance.” – Brian Tracy
When it comes to saying British surnames, just sounding it out doesn’t always work. Cholondeley, for example, is pronounced “ CHUM-lee.” Wriothesley is sometimes “RIZZ-lee” and Marjoribanks is simply “MARCH-banks.” Certain Featherstonhaughs say their names “FAN-shaw.”
Where would you most like to live?
I’d most like to live somewhere that feels calm, warm, and creatively inspiring—close enough to nature to breathe, but close enough to community to feel connected. A place with sunlight, trees, and quiet mornings, where I can write, think, and build a life that feels intentional.
“You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” Zig Ziglar
Staples’ iconic red easy button was conceived in a fitting way: During a brainstorming session in 2004, advertiser Leslie Sims said she wished she could simply push a button to create the perfect ad so the team could break for lunch.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
“My greatest love is my own becoming — the slow, steady work of healing, unlearning, and choosing myself without apology.”
A shopping spree would take me straight to an art supply store — the kind with aisles of sketchbooks, inks, paints, and tools I don’t even know how to use yet but desperately want to try. I’d fill a cart with colors, textures, and possibilities. After that, I’d wander into a cozy bookstore and lose myself in journals, poetry collections, and anything that sparks ideas. My spree would be less about buying things and more about stocking up on inspiration
“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up.” –Vince Lombardi
The Library of Congress houses more than 164 million items across more than 800 miles of shelf space. Its treasures include the world’s largest flute collection, one of only three perfect vellum copies of the Gutenberg Bible, and a 1507 map with the first known written mention of the name America.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
I’d come back as a wiser version of myself—still me, but with softer edges and a clearer sense of what truly matters.
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” —E.E. Cummings
Free condoms were originally given to Olympic athletes at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to prevent the spread of HIV. It’s now part of the Olympic tradition, with the condom count sometimes reaching upwards of 300,000.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I’d change the instinct to shrink or adjust myself to make others comfortable. It’s an old habit, and I’m slowly unlearning it, but it still shows up more than I’d like.
“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”― Marilyn Monroe
The residents of Oymyakon in Russia have the distinction of living in the coldest permanently inhabited place on earth, where the average winter temperature plummets to negative fifty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. That’s shy of its official winter temperature record of negative ninety degrees, observed on February 6, 1933, at the towns weather station.
On what occasion do you lie
If I lie, it’s usually a soft lie — the kind meant to shield someone from discomfort. I’m learning to trust that honesty, spoken with care, is kinder in the long run.
“What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle and giving 110% all the time.” – Don Zimmer
Alice blue, a shade of pale Azure that sparked a fashion sensation in the early 20th century, and was named after Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter, Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth. Her eyes were set to match the shade. The color even made it to Broadway in the 1919 musical Irene, featuring a song called “Alice Blue Gown.”
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
I overuse the soft, peacekeeping phrases — “it’s fine,” “no worries,” “I don’t mind,” “sorry.” They slip out before I even think about them, tiny verbal bandages meant to keep everything smooth and easy. I also lean on fillers like “I mean” and “honestly” when I’m thinking out loud. Together, they paint a picture of someone trying to be gentle with the world, even when the world isn’t always gentle back.
Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.”- Brian Tracy
The phrase shrimp on the barbie comes from an Australian tourism ad starring Paul Hogan, the future Crocodile Dundee- and what he actually said was “I’ll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for ya,” not “I’ll throw another shrimp on the barbie.”
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
The trait I most deplore in myself is the quiet belief that I must bend to be accepted. It’s the old echo that whispers I’m only worthy if I perform. I’m learning to silence it, to stand in who I am without apology.
M.A.D. Works 