The southwest is my home and I didn’t learn to fully appreciate its unique beauty and culture for what it is until I left.
The wide open skies and horizons that seem to go on forever and the sunsets that come with that are breathtaking. The sparseness of the landscape is soothing to the spirit; the lack of humidity is wonderful for the lungs. The rock formations are insane. If you’re the kind of person who loves sunlight you’re in luck. And few things are better than the smell and splendor of desert rain.
Some areas like where I grew up can be incredibly isolated geographically and culturally from other parts of the US, where the nearest large (American) city is three to eight hours‘ driving distance away, surrounded with nothing but empty desert.
I would say the southwest starts in Marfa, Texas (highly recommend) and extends into SoCal, with the furthest north parts being in lower Utah and Colorado. New Mexico and El Paso have some of the best Mexican food in the country. The national and state parks are gorgeous. I don’t claim Arizona, especially since it’s become infested with Californians. Every city I have visited in Arizona has been the worst place I’ve ever been.
The environment and climate are hostile to human plant and animal life in a lot of ways (including urban planning in most major cities in the area) and the people can be suspicious of strangers and outsiders, brusque and unfriendly. The legacy of centuries of colonization, occupation, gunslinging outlaws, and war casts an inescapably dark feeling over the land. I admire the southwest because it’s an area where everything and everyone must fight to exist; it fosters resilience and self sufficiency like nothing else.
Sep 20, 2024
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Lol I think it’s clear here how obsessed I am with this region. I’m particularly a fan of Flagstaff, AZ and northern New Mexico, but I also really like Tucson.
Seems like the perfect place to spend this length of time in since I could imagine the isolation, distance from international airports, and politics of the surrounding areas would get trying longterm. But for this length of time, you’ll have all the hikes in the world, amazing food, art scenes, and the healing power of the desert!
Mar 22, 2024
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Closest town is a Mexican sister city right across the river, then a smattering of smaller New Mexican towns scattered through the desert, then absolutely nothing for hours—just empty space, sand, dust, sparse vegetation, and the open road. You can drive something like eight hours one way before reaching civilization. There’s not much to do there and sometimes it felt like a place time forgot… haven’t been back there in a few years.
Mar 4, 2025
I always liked hiking but never truly 'got' it. Then I went to the Southwest and zen'd out on some desert-y trails (Seven Falls in Tucson for those keeping track at home). Here, during January, you can experience every season in the span of an hour while observing roadrunners in their natural habitat. It's eerily silent and, when it's all said and done, you're hungry enough to eat 10 plates of enchiladas.
Jan 23, 2024
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My dad teases me about how when I was a little kid, my favorite thing to do when I was on the landline phone with somebody—be it a relative or one of my best friends—was to breathlessly describe the things that were in my bedroom so that they could have a mental picture of everything I loved and chose to surround myself with, and where I sat at that moment in time. Perfectly Imperfect reminds me of that so thanks for always listening and for sharing with me too 💌
Feb 23, 2025
Schedule sent my resignation email for the morning, effective immediately ✅💅
Feb 27, 2025
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I’ve been thinking about how much of social media is centered around curating our self-image. When selfies first became popular, they were dismissed as vain and vapid—a critique often rooted in misogyny—but now, the way we craft our online selves feels more like creating monuments.
We try to signal our individuality, hoping to be seen and understood, but ironically, I think this widens the gap between how others perceive us and who we really are. Instead of fostering connection, it can invite projection and misinterpretation—preconceived notions, prefab labels, and stereotypes. Worse, individuality has become branded and commodified, reducing our identities to products for others to consume.
On most platforms, validation often comes from how well you can curate and present your image—selfies, aesthetic branding, and lifestyle content tend to dominate. High engagement is tied to visibility, not necessarily depth or substance. But I think spaces like PI.FYI show that there’s another way: where connection is built on shared ideas, tastes, and interests rather than surface-level content. It’s refreshing to be part of a community that values thoughts over optics.
By sharing so few images of myself, I’ve found that it gives others room to focus on my ideas and voice. When I do share an image, it feels intentional—something that contributes to the story I want to tell rather than defining it. Sharing less allows me to express who I am beyond appearance.
For women, especially, sharing less can be a radical act in a world where the default is to objectify ourselves. It resists the pressure to center appearance, focusing instead on what truly matters: our thoughts, voices, and authenticity. I’ve posted a handful of pictures of myself in 2,500 posts because I care more about showing who I am than how I look.
In trying to be seen, are we making it harder for others to truly know us? It’s a question worth considering.
Dec 27, 2024