Life
This Is a Low-Volume Holiday Season
What it’s like when December shows up without much fanfare
Shannon Hilson
Writer of essays, reflections, and cultural commentary. Exploring creativity, inner life, and what it means to grow wiser on purpose.
Artificial Intelligence
If Art Has Rules, They Don’t Work Anymore
A storyteller’s take on intention, AI tools, and the myth of “real” creativity
Books
On Discovering Flannery O’Connor When You’re Finally Old Enough to Appreciate Her
A reflection on timing, obsession, and the fear that there are more good books than years left to read them
Life Lessons
7 Uncomfortable Truths You Only Learn Once You Stop Trying to Be Likable
The backstage pass to adulthood nobody meant to hand you
Work Life Balance
The Day After a Holiday Is Always Strange (And Nobody Talks About It)
A field guide to feeling weird
Life
We Don’t Do the Big Family Thanksgiving Table Thing
And honestly? The holiday’s better for it
Internet
Please Forward All Mail to the Current Version of Me
What your old internet acquaintances can teach you about growth (and selective replying)
Life
The Art of the Quiet Pivot
How small, almost-invisible shifts can secretly re-route your entire life
Self Image
On the Spiritual Art of Letting People Be Wrong About You
Reclaiming your own narrative when the world keeps inventing a version of you that doesn't exist
Life Lessons
You Can’t Choose Your Way Out of Being Human
Why even the "right" choices will eventually make you cry in a Target parking lot
Movies
Mandy and the Art of Growing Older Without Becoming a Cult Leader
What an acid-washed revenge movie taught me about aging, ego, and building a world worth living in
Internet
The Internet Used to Be About People
And maybe it still could be, if we'd stop acting like walking brand deals