Danielle Wright
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“The Power of Choosing Yourself: Lessons from My Mother’s Bold Pursuit of Purpose”
One of the most important lessons my mother ever taught me was the value of self-fulfillment over self-betrayal. When I was just five years old (almost six) and my sister was four, my mother was offered a tenure-track faculty position at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. The offer more than doubled her salary at…
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Jealousy, Envy, and Friendship Break-Ups
Friendship can be a beautiful and fulfilling part of life. In fact, it directly connects to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, as it helps satisfy our fundamental need for belonging. However, like any other relationship, friendships are not without their challenges. As we grow and evolve, so do our relationships. Sometimes, we set unrealistic expectations for…
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Kimberlé Crenshaw: A Trailblazing Shero Equipping Marginalized Communities with the Lens and Language to Define Their Experiences
Kimberlé Crenshaw is a personal shero of mine for many reasons. Her work has given me a framework to understand my own lived experiences and those of others who share my identity. She has dedicated her life’s work to interrogating the failures of anti-discrimination laws—not just in failing to uproot disparities, but in some cases,…
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“Finding Your Light in the Darkness”
I’ve always been afraid of the dark, terrified of not being able to see what lies ahead. I remember, as a teenager, confessing this fear to my high school boyfriend. In response, he gave me a motion detector night light. Each time I walked past, it sensed my movement and lit the way forward. It…
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Why Are Black Women Struggling with Inertia?
The opposite of overwhelm is not action but stillness—a deliberate pause, an embrace of inertia. Yet, for Black women, inertia feels elusive, even impossible, despite its promise of potential. Inertia is not nothingness; it holds the quiet potential for movement, waiting for the right force. So why is it so hard for Black women to…
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Lessons from Grey’s Anatomy
There is an old episode of the medical drama series Grey’s Anatomy where a patient presents with an excruciating headache. The patient frustratingly explains that on a scale from 1-10, the pain is always a 10 and that he has been dealing with this pain for many years. The pain has completely disrupted his quality…
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The Myth of Meritocracy
There is a legendary myth from the late 1800s about a Black man named John Henry, a folklore figure renowned for his extraordinary strength and endurance. John Henry worked as a steel driver on the construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. When the railroad company introduced a high-powered drill, claiming it was more efficient…
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Embracing My Inner Truth: A Journey of Self-Awareness and Recovering from People-Pleasing
Navigating relationships and personal beliefs can often feel like walking a tightrope. We are constantly balancing our own needs and preferences with the expectations of those around us. During emotionally vulnerable times, this balance can tip, leading us to make decisions that betray our true selves. This blog post explores a personal experience during the…
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Healing in Community: Exploring the Superwoman Schema with Geaux Girl Giving
Last week, I had the privilege of facilitating a discussion about the superwoman schema for an incredible organization called Geaux Girl Giving. Being in the company of Black women was profoundly healing for me as the facilitator. I felt seen and understood as the women in the room shared their own challenges with navigating the…
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Unmasking Hidden Struggles
I was recently reading Kerry Washington’s memoir, where she shared a deeply personal account of her struggles with disordered eating during her college years. She explained that disordered eating was her way of masking emotional pain, comparing it to self-medicating with drugs or alcohol. For Kerry, maintaining the appearance of having it all together was…
Providing you with tips and tools from a licensed therapist to support the development of your emotional intelligence 