05/17/2026
Yesterday’s Reclaiming Whimsy workshop left something lingering in me that is hard to put into words. There was something profoundly healing about being in a room full of women who didn’t just agree to explore play and whimsy again, but were genuinely excited to return to it. So many of us have spent years carrying expectations, performing adulthood, shrinking ourselves into what is practical, productive, acceptable. And yesterday, for a few beautiful hours, all of that softened.
One by one, each person stepped into my photo space, and I watched the walls fall away. At first there was hesitation, nervous laughter, self-awareness. But with every station, every shared giggle, every ridiculous pose and burst of creativity, something shifted. I watched women reconnect with the versions of themselves that existed before the world taught them to be careful. Before the pressure. Before the self-consciousness. Before that quiet shift so many girls experience as they grow into womanhood.
By the end, the room felt alive in a way I haven’t experienced in years. Wild laughter. Goofiness. Genuine silliness. Women hyping each other up without irony or competition. It reminded me of girlhood in the purest sense, those days where connection came easily and joy didn’t need justification. Where we gathered simply because being together felt magical.
To witness that unfolding in real time was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. This workshop lived in my heart for so long as only a dream, and yesterday ashley and I got to watch it breathe. I got to watch people remember themselves. And I don’t think I will ever forget it.
