The Daily Riley

I have practiced, I have prepared. Tomorrow I will either pass or I won't. OK.

Having failed the coding challenge the first time around, I'm in a group that is studying for the re-take. Five of us in a quiet room. 60...

Through the messy middle, it's important to remember why I'm doing such a hard thing in the first place.

I failed my coding challenge today. Fail again next week and I'm held back to restart the first phase. I can't think anymore tonight. Bye.

Today I listened to music on my commute. I rediscovered a song that gives me goosebumps. I added it to my “Goose” playlist. The playlist...

School has me feeling exhausted, confused and uncertain. So what. Water is wet. There is so much beauty in my life that I have not been...

It's both emotionally and intellectually challenging. It's a confrontation and collaboration with the version of myself that I hid and...

This fucking feeling. A heavy combination of exasperated, angry, confused and regretful. What the fuck am I doing here? On multiple...

This is hard. Yesterday was a big challenge. There is some comfort in solidarity. I’m not alone. I had some good conversations yesterday...

I saw in my journal last week, I wrote of my physical therapy assessment that it was “challenging. Might not go back.” I felt...

Hello. I’m on my lunch break at my first day of coding bootcamp. Not much to report yet. I had a good morning. I'm happy to have prepared...

At 6:20am, I stepped outside and ran a mile in 9 minutes and 27 seconds. It was my first mile run since April 5th. Even though I healed...

Last night I celebrated the high school graduation of a friend I have known since he was a little baby. The room was full of friends I...

I have a tendency to wallow. I’m working on replacing that with something more constructive. It’s necessary acknowledge a shortcoming,...

I went in for a physical therapy assessment today. It’s all part of my big plan to improve my health once I can afford to take up such...

I think about the private vulnerable talks with these public goof clowns. Times they confided in me about their emotional weight. With...

Being on social media makes me feel isolated. So does taking a break. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. The last time I took a long...

This is the second day in a row that I’ve forgotten to write a blog post until it’s time to get to bed. I don’t want this to be a normal...

As a high school student, I allowed the stress and anxiety over grades to boil over. "I'm going to fail," I would say, sealing my fate....

I’m on a cool, quiet, peaceful morning walk in the neighborhood. My hands are full of books from my favorite tiny library box. On my...