A Big Life Update

Hello friend,

2025 was, quite frankly, a shitstorm of a year for me.

One breakup. One cross-country move. One new puppy. Endo flaring back up. And a lot, truly a lot, of days feeling depressed and unsure about what came next.

Even so, I made a conscious effort not to tell myself (or the internet) a story where I was unlucky, doomed, or stuck. I’ve learned there is real power in how you narrate your own life.

If you have been around here long enough, you probably remember a version of me who positioned herself as a perpetual victim of…just about everything. I am not proud of that version of myself, but I am owning it.

All of that is to say, what was objectively a very hard year ended up bringing some unexpectedly beautiful things with it. One of the biggest was my move upstate.

Coming to upstate New York was the shift I did not realize how badly I needed. I love having four real seasons in all their intensity. And wow has winter been intense this year. It is currently snowy and freezing, and I am full on embracing the coziness of it.

I love the farm and the food culture here. I love the sense of community I feel. I do not know if it is because so many people I knew during my NYC years are nearby now, but the social element feels good in a way I’ve been missing for a while.

There are also great shops, great restaurants, antiques everywhere, and so much beautiful nature it almost feels unfair.

Which brings me to the part that still feels strange to type.

I feel weird even writing this, because I wanted it for a long time and also genuinely stopped assuming it was something that would automatically be in the cards for me. My life and career have never been especially linear, and for a long time this felt like a “maybe someday, but not anytime soon” kind of thing.

But through a combination of stubbornness, lots of stress, some help, and honestly a decent amount of luck, I did something very adult and very scary and…

I bought a fucking house.

It still does not fully register. It mostly feels surreal and a little fake, like I’m waiting for someone to tell me there’s been a mistake.

And to be very clear, this is not some kind of “I’ve arrived” moment. The house needs a lot of work. I am currently surrounded by boxes, lists, samples, and the growing realization that owning a home is just trading one set of problems for a much more expensive and permanent set of problems.

What it does feel like is…stability. A base! A place where I can actually exhale and start rebuilding parts of my life that have been on pause for a long time.

And that feels fucking priceless.

And one last thing, whether you’re new around here or you’ve been here for a long time and seen me through a lot of the shitstorm, I just want to say thank you. Your support, whether that’s reading, sharing, or paying for this newsletter, is something I don’t take for granted.

Love always,

VC