Shells from a Beach

Stories of life, love, and learning

Welcome!

This blog was sparked in text conversations with a friend who told me I write “beautifully” amidst discussions that helped me reclaim myself. Then, it was like dominoes: multiple friends stopped me to say that my writing was beautiful. I thought “I’m not a writer, I’m a mathematician…” but, in truth, I write a lot. I type my notes for classes to ensure that the conceptual understanding is clear, I journal things, I take forever writing emails because my words mean something to me.

Their words grabbed me. I feel vulnerable sharing my writing, but I want to share the work I’ve done in the hope that others can benefit from it. I hope you enjoy my words. I hope you find ways to reclaim yourself, love yourself, and spark the light inside you.

Love, -S.

Start from the beginning: Hello Internet

Or, read the latest posts:

  • Abandonment

    I think of that quote… something to the effect of “perhaps your true fear of abandonment is the fear that you’ll abandon yourself.” I cannot read this word without picturing an abandoned child. In some way, that child is inside me, and that quote has been true most of my life. I abandoned parts of

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  • Faith

    It was recently brought to my attention that I hold a lot of faith. I’m not religious, but I have faith in people, in life, and just in general. I called myself a “highly sensitive intuitive empath” in an earlier post. My faith comes from my intuition. I believe in the best of things, I

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  • Spiraling

    In my post about the physical touch language, I started talking about how I spiral when I’m physically apart from my partner, so this is the post to unpack that emotional response. I find that my spirals happen anytime my partner goes silent – the more responsive they were prior to the silence, the worse

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  • Value

    In recent developments, I have finally been holding my value. I recognized long ago that I let people treat me like trash in relationships. I didn’t feel like I had value, so I bent until I was resentful. It took one of the most abusive relationships I’ve ever had combined with parenthood for me to

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  • Touch

    Love languages: physical touch talk (this is fifth in a series.) I am powered by cuddles. Physical touch is an incredibly important love language for me; I would not choose a relationship with someone whose physical touch was misaligned with my needs. It is the most important love language, for me, in a romantic relationship.

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  • Words

    Love languages: words of affirmation talk (this is the fourth in a series.) Words hold more value than those in my youth wanted me to believe. Words shape us, not just actions. Some of us are more sensitive to words. I’m sensitive to the words spoken to me. When I have a partner focusing on

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  • Quality Time

    Love Languages: quality time talk. (This is the third in a series.) Time is one of our most valuable assets. The cliché is “time is money.” If someone feels that their time is better spent elsewhere, they won’t be taking the time to give you quality time. When someone values your presence in their life,

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  • Service

    Love Languages: acts of service talk. (This is the second post in a series.) Near the end of the last post, I mentioned some things that I was calling gifts, but just as easily fit in as acts of service. Preparing a meal, for example, is a gift and an act of service. The meal

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  • Receiving

    These next few posts will be a series about love languages. I’m particularly fond of these deconstructions and the articulation of specific ways we give and receive love. I’m choosing to start with the most controversial one, and the one I felt was at the bottom of my list. However, we all experience a level

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  • Why do I Love You?

    I keep my heart on my sleeve, so anyone in my life is someone I love. Though, the type of love is always agape or philia. I care deeply for people, but eros is particularly unraveling of my person. I’ve been digging into this a bit over time in this blog, in this post I’m

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