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Dopamine Shots
These days, my dopamine comes in quieter doses. Driving toward the beach before the world wakes up, watching the sky soften as the sun rises and if I’m lucky, catching the full moon lingering in my rearview mirror. Shopping for myself without guilt. Long walks alone with my favorite music filling the silence. Going to the gym and feeling my watch buzz to remind me I completed my exercise goal for the day. Traveling back home to see my best friend and eating all of our favorit
lipsandliberation
Jan 293 min read


The Circle Gets Smaller and That's Not a Loss
As I get older, I’m learning who my core relationships truly are. The circle gets smaller not because of bitterness, not because of walls, but because judgment finally arrives. And I’ve made peace with that. I no longer reach for outside noise when I’m at my most vulnerable. I used to. I needed it once. But now, I understand that not everyone deserves access to my softest moments. Selectivity isn’t isolation, it’s self-respect. When I was married, communication was one of our
lipsandliberation
Jan 293 min read


Holding My Humanity in a Room That Doesn’t See It
I was born and raised in a big city, one that breathed diversity, contradiction, and progress long before it was trendy to do so. I grew up surrounded by languages blending into one another, cultures colliding in beautiful ways, and people who looked nothing alike but somehow shared space anyway. As a Latina woman, that environment didn’t make life easy, but it made it real . It taught me empathy early. It taught me to listen. It taught me that humanity is layered and complex
lipsandliberation
Jan 263 min read


Becoming Her
When I started this blog I spent time writing and unpacking where I came from. My childhood. The early days that shaped how I love, how I protect myself, and how deeply I feel.Those stories mattered because they explained how I survived. But this chapter isn’t about survival anymore. I t ’s about evolution. After ending a 20-year marriage one that should have ended long before it did I found myself standing in unfamiliar emotional territory. I wasn’t broken or lost, I was raw
lipsandliberation
Jan 252 min read


Sitting With Yourself
Sitting with yourself and reflecting on emotions
lipsandliberation
Jan 232 min read


For The One That Chose Me Anyway
You weren’t meant to be mine. You arrived on our stoop that Christmas morning like a question the universe whispered softly —and my heart answered before my mind ever could. My nurturing took over before I knew it had, and you learned my scent the way souls do quickly, instinctively, as if you had always known me. Within months you were sleeping tucked into my body, curled into any open space I made for you as I folded myself into sleep. You were so tiny. So light the world
lipsandliberation
Jan 42 min read


Snake In The Grass
You wore familiarity like a borrowed last name.Called yourself family when no blood ever bound usonly proximity, only convenience,only the quiet permission I gave during a seasonwhen my own foundation was cracking beneath me. You played the part well.Too well. Others noticed before I did.Friends tilted their heads when you spoke my name.Family raised eyebrows at the way you hovered,the way your concern felt less like careand more like ownership dressed as loyalty.They called
lipsandliberation
Dec 17, 20252 min read


Beaches, Budweisers, and First Loves
Growing up in a home filled with chaos, my friendships and relationships outside the house became my saving grace. They were little...
lipsandliberation
Aug 20, 20252 min read


The Rhythm She Chose, The Weight We Carried
Growing up, I often wondered what life would have looked like if my mom had sought the professional help she needed to pull herself out...
lipsandliberation
Aug 16, 20252 min read


The Moment the Ring Hit My Face
We were packed into a one-bedroom in a six-floor building that felt alive like the walls had a heartbeat. You’d hear Colombian beats...
lipsandliberation
Jul 27, 20253 min read


The Firstborn Witness
Born in the grit and hum of a big city on the East Coast, I was an only child but only for a while. Before siblings came and softened the...
lipsandliberation
Jul 26, 20252 min read


Rooted in the Beginning
They say every woman has a root the place her story first split the soil and began to grow. Mine was tangled.Not soft or sheltered. It sprouted through trauma, watered by silence and secrets. My roots weren’t nurtured they survived. And survival shaped every part of who I became: strong, cautious, fiercely independent, yet aching to be soft. I was raised in chaos, taught love through dysfunction, and learned early on how to hold myself together when the world didn’t. That kin
lipsandliberation
Jul 19, 20251 min read
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