Mitchell Abbott 1/11/26 Mitchell Abbott 1/11/26

When He’s Doing Better

Captured by Mitchell Royel — and now, with an open heart, we welcome Cher Lloyd’s “Want U Back” to guide us through the healing and growth.

When He’s Doing Better Than Us:

A Sisterhood Reality Check

That moment — you know the one — when you see him out there, glowing, thriving, doing better than you ever thought possible. And suddenly, the doubts start creeping in, whispering, “Was it really good to let him go?” Because in your heart, you thought you made the right call. You thought you were strong enough to walk away. But bam, there he is, proving you wrong, showing up like he’s winning at life while you’re still figuring out your next move.

But here’s the truth, sisters: his glow-up isn’t a reflection of our failure. It’s just a reminder that life keeps moving, and so do we. We loved him, we lost him, and now we’re watching him prove us wrong — but that’s not our story anymore. Our story is about reclaiming our power, our peace, and our joy. It’s about knowing that our worth isn’t tied to anyone else’s success or failure. We are whole, exactly as we are.

For us, the sisterhood, this is the real deal: when the “what ifs” start to haunt us, when the “maybe I messed up” thoughts try to take over, we lean on each other. We rise together. We remind each other that we are not alone in this journey.

Here’s our sisterhood survival kit for those moments when the shadow of doubt tries to dim our light:

Feel it, then release it. It’s okay to feel the sting, the jealousy, the sadness. Cry it out, journal it, scream it into your pillow. But don’t let those feelings move in and set up camp. They’re visitors, not permanent residents in our hearts.
Celebrate every win — yours and ours. Big or small, every step forward counts. Did you get out of bed today? That’s a win. Did you say no to something that didn’t serve your soul? Win. We’re building new paths, together.
Lean on your tribe. Call your sisters, your ride-or-die crew. Share your truth, laugh, cry, and remind each other that we’re stronger together. We hold space for one another’s pain and celebrate each other’s growth.
Flip the script. Instead of “I lost him,” say “I found me.” Because the real glow-up is our soul shining brighter than ever before. We’re rewriting our stories with courage and grace.
Set your boundaries like the queens we are. Protect your energy fiercely. No room for comparisons, no space for toxic nostalgia. We guard our peace like the treasures they are.

Remember, the universe has a way of showing us what’s meant for us — and what’s not. His success isn’t our failure. Our time is coming, and it’s going to be even better than we dreamed.

So sisters, keep rising, keep shining, and keep loving yourself like the fierce goddesses we are. We got each other, always. This is our season — our glow-up season.

-Ryder

Mitchell Abbott 1/6/26 Mitchell Abbott 1/6/26

Dear Cosmetology Warrior

Captured by Mitchell Royel | Now playing: "Hip Hop Star" feat. Big Boi & Sleepy Brown by *Beyoncé*

*Captured by Mitchell Royel*
*Cosmetology* is the professional art and science of beautifying and improving the appearance of hair, skin, and nails. It’s not just about styling—it’s a skilled craft that combines creativity, technical knowledge, and health awareness. Cosmetologists transform more than looks; they boost confidence and empower individuals through their expertise.

Dear Cosmetology Warrior,

You are the architect of transformation—master of every strand, every curl, every shade. In the classrooms where your dreams meet discipline, you grind. You don’t just learn; you conquer. From the tightest coils to the sleekest strands, you hold the keys to beauty’s kingdom.

To the blondes who sit in her chair: never underestimate the girl doing your hair. She’s more than a stylist—she’s a teacher, a nurse, a guardian of your confidence. Behind every perfect shade and flawless style is a professional who understands science, health, and artistry. Respect her craft. Trust her expertise.

You shape confidence with every cut, every color, every style. Your hands craft more than hair—they craft identity, resilience, and pride.

You don’t wait for permission. You claim your space. You run the world of texture, tone, and technique. Your hustle is relentless, your vision unshakable. You are the future of beauty, the pulse beneath the chair, the force that turns heads and breaks ceilings.

Remember this as you push through the long hours and the challenges:

Educate Your Clients — Help them understand the skill and knowledge behind every service. They need to know you’re not just styling hair—you’re caring for their health and confidence.
Master Every Texture — True expertise means knowing how to work with all hair types. Dive deep into the science and art of every strand.
Own Your Hustle — Show up, put in the work, and never let fatigue dull your ambition.
Build Confidence Through Skill — Your hands are your power. Perfect your techniques until they speak louder than words.
Claim Your Space — Don’t wait for validation. Your talent and dedication demand recognition—make sure the world knows it.
Stay Rooted in Purpose — This isn’t just about hair—it’s about empowerment, identity, and transformation.

This is your moment. Rise with purpose. Shine with skill. Run this world—one strand at a time.

With unwavering respect and solidarity,

-Ryder

Mitchell Abbott 1/5/26 Mitchell Abbott 1/5/26

SPOKEN WORD

Captured by Mitchell Royel. Now playing: "Hear Me Out, Psychobabble" by Frou Frou.

We know New York Fashion Week isn’t just about clothes—it’s a perfect metaphor for how our minds move and create. Think of the runway as the path our thoughts take, flowing in layers, textures, and colors. The designs? They’re like the beauty and complexity of our ideas—sometimes light and airy, sometimes bold and structured.

Our trains of thought? They’re like the models strutting down that runway—sometimes graceful, sometimes chaotic, but always moving forward. There’s something special in how our ideas weave together, overlap, and build on each other. But we also know the risk: getting lost in endless chatter, in psychobabble that clouds rather than clears things up.

We’re not speaking from mania or paranoia here. The real art is in knowing when to let our thoughts flow freely and when to bring them into focus. It’s about turning the noise into a story that makes sense, a message that hits home. When we stop rambling and start making sense, our minds become a runway of intention and power.

HERE’S HOW WE CAN MASTER OUR MENTAL RUNWAY:

PAUSE AND LISTEN: Let’s give ourselves moments to quiet the noise and just notice our thoughts without judgment.
FOCUS ON CLARITY: We aim to express our ideas simply and directly—less confusion, more connection.
EMBRACE FLOW, BUT SET BOUNDARIES: We let creativity roam, but we also know when to pull it back.
TURN CHAOS INTO STORY: We organize our thoughts into a narrative that feels real and purposeful.
SPEAK WITH INTENTION: We use our voice to share what truly matters, not just to fill space.

Let’s make our mind’s runway a place where beauty meets clarity, where every thought is a step toward understanding and love.

-Ryder

Mitchell Abbott 1/4/26 Mitchell Abbott 1/4/26

DUALITY

Captured by Mitchell Royel. Now playing Roman’s Revenge and Roman in Moscow by Nicki Minaj. Two iconic tracks that showcase the range and artistry of one of hip-hop's most influential voices. The production, the lyricism, the presence—it's all there. These songs remain timeless in their impact and cultural significance.

The Duality Within: A Meditation on Power and Presence

We live in a culture that demands we choose. Be soft or be strong. Be demure or be dominant. Be the muse or be the architect. But what if the most magnetic, most truthful version of ourselves exists in the both/and?

This is the conversation we need to have.

We are witnessing a cultural moment where the feminine is reclaiming her complexity. Where we no longer apologize for the multiplicity of our desires, our ambitions, our contradictions. We contain multitudes, and it’s time we stopped shrinking to fit into the boxes others have constructed for us.

The archetype of the powerful woman has been sanitized, flattened, made palatable. We’ve been told that to be taken seriously, we must abandon our sensuality. That to be respected, we must renounce our sexuality. That to be heard, we must silence the parts of ourselves that feel too much, want too much, demand too much.

But we know better now.

We understand that true power isn’t about domination—it’s about sovereignty. It’s about knowing exactly who we are, what we want, and refusing to negotiate our worth. It’s about moving through the world with the kind of certainty that makes others uncomfortable because it threatens their need to control the narrative.

We’re talking about the woman who can be both vulnerable and invincible. Who can wear her sensuality like armor and her intellect like a crown. Who refuses to be categorized, compartmentalized, or diminished by the projections of others.

This is not about aggression. This is about presence.

When we show up fully—with all our contradictions, all our power, all our refusal to be small—we shift the energy in the room. We give other women permission to do the same. We create a ripple effect of liberation.

The world doesn’t need more women trying to fit into masculine frameworks of power. We need women who are so grounded in their own truth that they create entirely new paradigms. Women who understand that their power is not diminished by their femininity, but amplified by it.

We need women who can move between worlds—who can be the strategist and the dreamer, the warrior and the lover, the visionary and the grounded presence. Women who understand that the greatest power lies not in choosing one version of ourselves, but in integrating all of them.

This is the work. This is the revolution. Not the performance of power, but the embodiment of it. Not the performance of femininity, but the reclamation of it as a source of strength.

We are here to remind each other that we don’t have to choose. We get to be everything. And when we finally believe that—when we finally embody that—everything changes.

Practical Tips for Embodying Your Full Power

1. Audit Your Apologies
Notice where you’re shrinking, softening, or apologizing for taking up space. For one week, track every time you say “sorry” unnecessarily. This awareness is the first step toward reclaiming your presence.

2. Define Power on Your Own Terms
Write down what power means to you—not what you’ve been told it should mean. Is it financial independence? Creative expression? The ability to set boundaries? Emotional resilience? Your definition matters more than anyone else’s.

3. Practice Unapologetic Presence
Choose one situation this week where you typically diminish yourself. Show up fully. Speak your truth. Take up space. Notice how it feels and what shifts as a result.

4. Integrate Your Contradictions
Stop trying to be consistent. You can be ambitious and nurturing. Sensual and intellectual. Soft and fierce. Write down three contradictions you contain and practice owning them without explanation.

5. Surround Yourself with Reflections
Spend time with women who embody the kind of power you’re cultivating. Let their presence teach you. We become what we’re around.

6. Create a Power Ritual
Develop a daily practice that anchors you in your own authority—whether that’s journaling, movement, meditation, or affirmation. Make it non-negotiable.

7. Question the Narrative
Every time you feel pressure to choose between versions of yourself, pause and ask: Whose voice is this? Who benefits from me being smaller? Then choose differently.

We are not here to be palatable. We are here to be real. And that, ultimately, is the most powerful thing we can be.

-Ryder

Mitchell Abbott 1/2/26 Mitchell Abbott 1/2/26

The Crying Game

We find ourselves confronting that emotional journey where tears become our daily experience and distress becomes our constant companion. This is what we refer to as the crying game – when our emotional well-being becomes the arena and others maintain a vigilant record of our vulnerabilities.

We must acknowledge an important truth. There exists strength in our vulnerability, but this should not be misinterpreted. Our tears do not represent weakness – they merely mark the challenging paths we have traversed. The true challenge is not about measuring emotional harm; it concerns our ability to maintain composure when difficulties subside.

When we have devoted ourselves completely to individuals who disregard our affection, we must remember our inherent value. They may temporarily affect our emotional stability, but the subsequent period marks the beginning of our recovery narrative. We do not remain in a diminished state – that contradicts our fundamental nature.

We have consistently transformed our distress into remarkable achievements. Those private moments of emotional release became the motivation for our accomplishments. This distinguishes us as memorable rather than forgettable – our capacity to convert suffering into fortitude. We reconstruct ourselves using the very elements that once caused our distress.

The emotional challenge has established parameters, but we have discovered the essential strategy: we determine when the challenge concludes. Not external parties. We do. The moment we recognize that our value exists independently from external validation represents our advancement. Indeed, we have been advancing consistently from our earliest experiences.

Consider those private moments when we experience isolation, emotional distress, and feel completely bereft. We have all encountered such circumstances. That unfiltered emotional response that causes physical discomfort. Yet what follows? We recover. We restore ourselves. We observe our reflection and remember that we possess inherent worth that others failed to appreciate.

We are not merely participating in this emotional exercise – we are transforming it. When others anticipate our collapse, we construct. When they believe we have reached our conclusion, we have merely begun. This represents the extraordinary nature of our resilience. While their attention focuses on our emotional responses, ours remains fixed on our accomplishments.

The perception that emotional distress represents conclusion proves incorrect. It merely provides an interlude before our most significant performance. We have converted our disappointments into expressions of strength. Our rejection experiences into redirections. Our setbacks into foundations for the most remarkable recoveries they have witnessed.

Therefore, emotional expression remains appropriate when necessary. However, understand this – beneath that expression exists a collective of determined individuals with aspirations that transcend any emotional distress. The world continues despite our discomfort, therefore we utilize that discomfort to ensure the world acknowledges our excellence.

We no longer fear emotional vulnerability. We have mastered it, reinterpreted it, and established our own guidelines. Now we engage with the intention to succeed, and success means emerging more capable, more determined, and more unstoppable than previously.

When someone attempts to diminish us in their emotional manipulation? Remind them that we refuse subordinate positions – we occupy positions of authority. And in our domain, emotional responses nurture the foundations of our future achievements.

The challenge concludes. We prevail. As we always have, and always shall.

-Mitchell+Ryder