Stories to push you forward. For those born with an innate sense of wanderlust, it can be difficult to imagine there are others who don’t share the same yearning to move. But for some, traveling isn’t a series of glittering memories. When prompted to pack a suitcase and brave the rails, road, or sky, be it across the world or a stone’s throw away, they see not picturesque walks along riverbanks, new aromas wafting their way, or foreign tongues catching their ears. They see long queues,...
6 days ago • 1 min read
Shifting just a few purchases to locally owned stores makes a difference as we fight the good fight against mass production and megacorporations. In the last quarter of 2025, in a turn of events that stunned no one, OpenAI announced its move towards agentic commerce, allowing U.S. ChatGPT users to buy items directly in the chatbox. As an aside, let’s not forget that ChatGPT’s self-proclaimed mission is “to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.” How encouraging...
16 days ago • 2 min read
One Christmas alone doesn’t mean all Christmases will be alone. This year may be a quiet moment—that’s okay. Spending Christmas alone is a lot more common than people realize. A Mission for Michael (AMFM) conducted a survey in December 2025, combining the results with US census data to estimate how many people will spend Christmas alone this year: 16.3 million. But spending the holidays alone isn’t just an American phenomenon. A study by the Policy Institute at King’s College London found...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Gifts that look good, feel good, and DO good. It’s that time of year again. When every brand you’ve ever interacted with (if only via a few, long-ago clicks) begins force-feeding you a list of “must-haves” for the holiday season. Things you need. Things your mom needs. Your partner needs. Your best friend needs. But you know what they’re not telling you? You don’t need it. Really. You don’t need more plastic. You don’t need more expensive, poor-quality clothes you’ll forget about come...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Wisdom, distilled. The Internet loves to write think pieces about how we’ve lost our attention spans. Where did they go? Social media is one obvious culprit. I personally like to pick on TikTok for reasons such as : 5 TikTok Challenges That Left Thousands Injured and Over 100 Dead. In general, I’m pretty anti short-form video and the fact that information is becoming more and more condensed into visually-stimulating, “aesthetically-pleasing” 30-second sound bytes. Give me words. Give me...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Do you like being with yourself? Spending time alone doesn’t usually sound idyllic. Single women are often cast as unfortunate spinsters. Reserving a table for one is a famously embarrassing cliché. From single prom nights to flying solo at weddings to loner Valentine’s Day celebrations, having the guts to go it alone instead of relying on the comfortable, however mediocre, presence of a date is often frowned upon (or at least considered lame). What gives? Why is doing things alone so widely...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Wandering à la Merry Loner Lifestyle in Cannes, France, November 2024. While the Merry Loner Mindset praises leaning into self-confidence and going after your dreams, I haven't always done so publicly—and when I have, it often comes with a lot of hesitation and worrying before hitting PUBLISH. It just doesn't come naturally to me. I don't maintain an Instgram account with lots of pictures of myself. I'm always forgetting to post on LinkedIn, even though that's what all the freelance writers...
4 months ago • 2 min read
"august sipped away like a bottle of wine" The first weekend in September may already be behind us, but my mind is still on summer sun, breezy linen skirts, and travel plans. August was a packed month for me! After enjoying the first weekend home in Paris with coffee dates and a stroll in my local community garden, I've spent the last three weekends living out of my beloeved, beaten-up leather duffel bag: a trip to Jarosławki, Poland for a wedding; a long weekend in Saint Louis, with...
5 months ago • 5 min read
Solo summer activities you’ll love—no matter your relationship status. I usually spend winters hibernating. Living in the UK, where you essentially experience six to eight months of gloom every year, I find my life energy reawakens with the return of spring and summer. But this summer hits differently. It’s my first-ever summer living alone. Since I’m in my early thirties, many of my friends are busy with their kids and/or are away on holidays with their partners, so I’ve found myself...
5 months ago • 1 min read