KatMae

There was a time when a selfie was called vanity.
As a formal model, I did them to demonstrate that I was real beyond the carefully-currated images.
Now I see it differently.

A selfie can be documentation.
Proof that you were here.
Proof that you existed in this moment.
Proof that you felt beautiful, or strong, or tired, or alive.

Women spend so much of their lives behind the camera, behind the scenes, behind the work, behind everyone else’s memories.
Sometimes a selfie is just a small way of saying,
“I was here too.”

Not for attention.
Not for approval.
But for memory.
For confidence.
For ownership of our own image and our own story.

So take the selfie.
Document your life.
Celebrate your face, your age, your body, your existence.
You don’t need a reason to be seen.

Early dismissal days are my favorite.
Not because they’re convenient.
But because they’re a quarterly reminder that equality clocks out at 12:30 PM.
It’s not an emergency.
It’s not unexpected.
It’s literally on the calendar since August.
And yet . . . when that cheerful little "Reminder: Early Dismissal!" email hits inboxes across America, something fascinating happens.

Two working parents read it.
One mentally rearranges meetings.
Somewhere between "we both have careers" and "someone has to pick them up," the invisible job description quietly slides across the table.
No discussion.
No coin toss.
Just tradition.

It’s impressive, really, how modern partnership can feel so progressive right up until the school bell rings before lunch.

Anyway, I’ll be the one answering emails with a kid over my shoulder.

Because equality?
Apparently dismisses early too.

Snow’s coming down, folks losing their mind,
Buying it all like time’s running blind.
I shopped on Monday, neurotic as can be,
Ahead of the storm, ahead of the spree.
Go me??

Are you panic shopping? Able to get what you needed at the store for the weekend?