Life Lessons
6 Ways Your World Gets Smaller as You Age (and Why That's a Good Thing)
What I didn't expect to learn about getting older, paying attention, and figuring out what matters most
Life Lessons
What I didn't expect to learn about getting older, paying attention, and figuring out what matters most
Creativity
What creative patterns and nudges can reveal about the body of work you're cultivating
Artificial Intelligence
This doesn't feel like it actually belongs on Substack, so I'll stick it here instead
Self Care
Small acts of maintenance won't change your life overnight, but they can make everyday life a lot more enjoyable
Life Lessons
Looking up someone from your past can tell you a surprising amount about people and about the younger version of yourself who knew them
Movies
David Bowie, goblins, impossible staircases, and a surprising amount of wisdom for navigating adulthood
Art
The long answer to the question I've been hearing my entire life
The long answer to the question I've been hearing my entire life
A short list of long obsessions
A love letter to social experiments, good-natured trolling, and intentional confusion
On mortuaries, butchery, and why curiosity isn’t the same thing as creepiness
Notes and reflections from the wandering desk of Shannon Hilson
Ten observations from the garden this summer (so far)
For years, two impossible gowns wait patiently for the woman who made them
Practical ways to keep writing, making art, and creating for yourself even when work demands your attention
On aging, changing preferences, and discovering beauty in unexpected places
Why midlife dreams start looking less like skydiving and more like finally learning Icelandic
What happens when comments, replies, and internet conversation become machine-assisted
A brief update on life — something I just don't do enough anymore
What changes for women in midlife and why you stop tolerating things that used to feel normal
Every so often, something reminds me that people have so much more in common than otherwise
What a bizarrely calm bird taught me about memory, detail, and proof
Why interest fades, what to do when it does, and why people push back
On pranks, awkward social scripts, and quietly stepping out of the joke