Hi Reader,

Yes, it’s me, sending a newsletter a mere two days before a major holiday.

Bananas, I know.

But it is hardly the only bananas thing that goes on during this season of hustle and bustle.

In fact, I feel like the holiday season makes me think of everything I simultaneously like and don’t like about myself. Like? I’ve been seeing my jawbone again recently and I’m kind of digging it. Dislike? That there is some part of me that feels compelled to apologize when someone bangs into me (and not the other way around) while holiday shopping.

I think that it comes from my internal rebellion against being a Leo.

As a textbook Leo, I am…a lot.
Big feelings. Big ideas. Big reactions.
Not always subtle. Rarely quiet.
My kids have asked me to please not do that thing I do at the end of movies where I stand up and often dance to the credits.
Just…a lot.
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To combat that, I think, I’ve learned to tone myself down. To fit some boxes. To apologize for taking up so much space.

Which is, of course, also bananas.

Bc the world does not need more of us pretending to be LESS than who we are. The world needs each of us, as our most authentic, most innate selves.

And I think that’s why this week’s conversation with Cheldin Barlatt Rumer landed the way it did.

I didn’t hear advice.
I didn’t feel coached.

I saw another unquiet woman who didn’t counter herself.

At one point, Cheldin said, simply:

“I’m a lot.”

No wink.
No disclaimer.
No apology.

What struck me wasn’t the statement—it was everything underneath it. Because nothing Cheldin has built came from being smaller. Her work in media, in community-building, in creating infrastructure for women’s voices didn’t come from toning herself down. It came from fully occupying who she already was—and then building something that could hold that energy.

That’s what this final episode of the season is really about.

Listening to Cheldin, I kept thinking about how much effort goes into making ourselves easier to absorb. Softer. Smaller. Less disruptive. And how different things look when that effort gets redirected—not into shrinking, but into building something that actually fits.

Here's a little clip of our convo:

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The full episode is available wherever you listen and here and here, but here’s the thing: you don’t have to listen to this episode right now.

In fact, I kind of hope you don’t.

This isn’t a “fold the laundry, answer emails, half-pay attention” conversation. It’s one for when the noise dies down a little. When there’s a cup of tea nearby. Maybe a notebook you haven’t written in yet. A new year stretched out in front of you, with loads of possibility for your biggest dreams.

Because that’s what Cheldin is actually talking about. Not becoming louder. Not becoming someone else. But building a life, a platform, and a future that can hold the full version of you—without apology.

So save this one. Flag the email. Come back to it when you’re not bracing, rushing, or managing everyone else’s needs.

And, in that spirit, we’re also taking a much-needed break.

Season 4 of Roar kicks off in April, and while you’ll still be on the receiving end of this newsletter while the podcast is in hiaturs we’ll be taking some time just for family for the next two weeks.

We’ll be back on January 6 (eek — what a day), rested, rejuvenated (fingers crossed), and ready to celebrate all the good things a new year can bring.

Until then, I’m wishing you everything you want from a holiday season, and an amazing start to 2026.

XO,
Danielle