Alive, Well, + Choosing Privacy.

I am still here. Alive + well. I am choosing privacy in a world that treats visibility like proof of existence. I am choosing presence over performance + depth over documentation. My life is not quieter because it is empty. It is quieter because it is full.

I am learning that I do not owe constant access to anyone. I do not owe updates, explanations, or evidence of joy. There was a time when I believed being seen meant being known. Now I understand that being known requires discernment. It requires intention. It requires restraint.

I still write. I still share. I still show up. Just not compulsively. Not on demand. Not for consumption. I post when it feels nostalgic, like the early days before everything became content + everyone became commentary. I live outside of my phone now. I let moments finish themselves before I reach for a camera. I let memory exist without documentation.

I am not disappearing. I am discerning.

There is a difference between community + access. There is a difference between connection + entitlement. You may have a relationship with me, but you do not automatically have access to me. That access is given intentionally + can be taken away just as intentionally.

I am no longer interested in volunteering my inner life to people who cannot steward it. I am no longer interested in performing vulnerability for validation. Privacy has become a form of self-respect. Quiet has become a form of authority.

I am alive. I am well. I am choosing privacy. + that choice has given me more of my life back than visibility ever did.

With Love Always, Ashley🖤