Vol #1- Reflections from the heart

Jan 2, 2026 1:01pm

I’ve been close to starting this space before — many times, actually.

Each time with a different name. Each time with new fonts, new colors, new ideas. And every time, I never hit publish.

It was never good enough.

It had to be cooler. Catchier. Trendier. More “right.”

It had to be perfect — and that’s exactly why it never existed.

That looping thought — it needs to be perfect before I put it out into the world — is one of my compulsions. One I’m actively learning to recognize and work through. Perfection felt safe. Publishing felt permanent.

Ignoring my brain this time and taking the risk anyway changed everything.

MAYAMADEIT came out of nowhere. And yes — the username is already taken on Instagram. Which, honestly, is kind of poetic. She’s a girl from Pittsburgh who started long before me. While I was consuming content to escape the reality I was living, she was crocheting, creating, and building something real. I don’t know her personally, but she’s talented, and I respect that.

Coming up with the name didn’t lead me to frustration — it led me to reflection.

I realized how much time I spent watching instead of making. How easy it is to live through someone else’s creativity instead of confronting your own. How consumerism doesn’t just sell products — it sells distraction. Drama. Stories that keep us hooked, scrolling, observing, and emotionally invested in lives that aren’t ours.

And in that noise, it’s become harder to learn. Harder to think. Harder to sit with an idea long enough for it to grow.

What I crave isn’t attention or validation.

I crave meeting minds that expand mine. I crave conversations that challenge me. I crave creating something instead of just absorbing everything.

This space exists because of that craving.

Not because it’s perfect — but because it’s real.