Salutations, and welcome to the shit show. Just kidding…mostly.

It’s been years since I last felt the pull to write and share my thoughts online. My last blog post was in 2020, and I remember so badly wanting to contribute something meaningful to the conversations happening at the time. Especially working in healthcare, I felt like I had something to offer, like I could maybe convince my corner of the world that masks weren’t all that bad, and hey… maybe they were even Jesus-approved.

A lot has changed in the six years since then. Life after the pandemic took turns I couldn’t have predicted in my wildest dreams. I went back to school, started working 12-hour night shifts at the hospital, fell in love, earned a degree in Arts Administration, and somehow found myself working in the equine industry.

In the middle of all that, I lost the urge to write. To contribute. To even think about my place in the conversation. I was too busy just trying to stay afloat.

Until now.

I’ve decided to start fresh with a new online space where I can share the experiences I’ve had and what I think I am able to add to certain conversations. From my upbringing as a gay girl in rural Kentucky, my experiences working in healthcare during a global pandemic, the real reason I didn’t go for a career in the arts, and my strong opinions on weight loss trends– I have more than enough to yap about. 

The catalyst for this space has been a growing number of conversations that have left me uneasy. As extreme weight loss and thinness come back into trend in our society (did she ever leave? let’s be honest), I’ve noticed a shift in how we talk about our bodies. As GLP-1s become as accessible as candy, I’ve had more and more people come to me for my thoughts on what feels, at times, like a new wave of nightmare fuel for those of us with a history of disordered eating and body image issues.

I was unfortunately exposed to harmful online content before I even became a teenager, which landed me in some dark spaces. I’m sure if you’re around my age, you can recall the nightmarish days of tumblr and twitter spaces that were flooded with content that supported disordered eating. For me, and for so many others, that was the beginning of something long-term. Something that has continued to evolve alongside trends, technology, and even political climates.

I used to spend quite a lot of time writing about the culture of disordered eating and how it seeps into our daily lives–often without us realizing it. This way of processing things on paper allowed me to begin to see things in the context of larger systems. The weight loss industry in the U.S. is a $135 billion industry. That kind of messaging isn’t accidental and it isn’t neutral. It raises a question I keep coming back to: who benefits when we are taught to be at war with our bodies?

For a while, the pendulum started to swing in a way that felt hopeful. Body positivity was everywhere. Different body types were showing up in marketing. I felt secure enough in myself (and in my recovery) to start speaking more openly. I blogged, I posted, I joined conversations wherever I could.

And then, life got full. School, work, everything else. As my recovery stabilized, I didn’t feel the same urgency to keep talking about it. It didn’t feel as immediate.

But the pendulum is swinging back. And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or even an eating disorder therapist!) to notice the shift happening all around us.

So, I think I’m ready to start talking again.

Sometimes about diet culture, through a political, financial, and deeply human lens.

Sometimes about the quieter, more personal things.

 And sometimes about something completely unrelated.

But always honestly. Always with context.

And hopefully, in a way that makes you feel a little less alone in whatever it is you’re navigating, too.

<3, Katie

P.S. Pls be patient with me as I continue to build my website. It’s been a long time since I did anything like this so there are inevitably bugs that need to be worked through!!!