Those who know me well know I love learning about psychology, the psyche, and the spirit. I’ve studied the Enneagram informally for many years, beginning during my time at Loyola in Chicago, where I was introduced to it through my Master’s program in spirituality. My desire to understand myself more deeply has always been tied to a longing for compassion—especially self-compassion—as I navigate this winding journey called life. One morning, I opened my “Ennea Thought of the

After my traumatic brain injury (TBI), I lost many things: a sense of safety in the world, trust in life, executive function, cognitive clarity, balance, the ability to write prose, and both short-term and long-term memory. For a while, I thought I had lost myself. Then one afternoon, I found myself sitting in a Barnes & Noble café. My iPod played “Creative Mind” by Jeffrey Thompson—music that always lifted my mood. Beside me sat my notebook, a Starbucks coffee with two pumps