Fun fact: I am a California girl that hates the beach.

Which is about as sacrilegious as it gets.

I have a memory of taking a trip to Santa Cruz with our family when I was little.

In an effort to look cool to my cousins, who were busy shouting “UNDER!” & “OVER!” to instruct us on what action to take for an oncoming wave (either dive under the wave, or swim over the top of it), I swam a bit further out than I was capable of.

A wave approached, and they shouted the instruction in unison, “UNDER!” as they all dove under the wave.

I looked up just in time to see the wave crashing on top of me.

After tumbling in circles, getting saltwater up my nose and sand in my swimsuit, I finally kicked my way to the surface. Only to get hit by another wave.

Like I said, I hate the beach.

Until last week, when I went to Spain on a birthday trip with my girlfriends.

We stayed in Mallorca, the largest island in the Balearic Islands.

We swam in water so clear I could see right down to my toes. There were no waves, only a gentle rocking of the sea.

I floated, treaded water, and stood on smooth rocks when I got tired. Instead of sand that got everywhere, we set up our towels on large rocks covered in salt and smooth, multi-colored pebbles.

I came home, excited to report to my beach-loving husband my newfound realization.

I burst through the door and told him:

“I don’t hate the beach after all! I hate WAVES! All we need to do is only go to the Balearic Islands, find calm beaches, with not too many people around, beautiful pebbles instead of sand, crystal clear blue water, zero waves, with lukewarm to warm water and I am good to go!”

I expected him to jump up and down, proclaim me a genius and book a two-week trip for us to island hop in Spain.

Instead, he laughed.

Evidently, it is unrealistic to demand of your husband that the only time you visit a beach together is in a small archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea.

In the same way that it is unrealistic for me to demand that the world grant me a life without big waves, big changes, and therefore, big discomfort.

The world recently decided to make a big change to my life without consulting me first (how rude!).

Because I would prefer to be in control. Of everything! All the time! Wouldn’t that be so much better?

Probably not.

It turns out, I need a force greater than myself to steer my life in the direction that it needs to go.

Sometimes the world causes big changes in my life for a reason (ugh). And I need to get pushed to the point where I say, “I need to make a change!”

More often than not, that’s not what happens.

Instead, the world says, “You were taking too long, so I made the change for you. Good luck, kid,” and drop-kicks me out a window.

I can either fight that change (which prolongs the inevitable), or I can ride the wave, accept that it might crash on top of me, and open my eyes to see what’s beneath the water.

It’s not always a treasure chest, but it does help me get to where I’m meant to go.

That’s life.

So as much as I’d like to spend a lifetime lounging in the calm waters of the Balearic Islands, perhaps these waves are good for me after all.

I look back on turbulent times in my life, and am shocked by how, in hindsight, a lot of it makes sense and needed to happen the way it did.

There are other times when change is just scary, and that’s life too.

If you are also working through a big, unexpected, and/or scary life change - this is a gentle reminder that we’re all right there with you.

In the famous words of an extremely well-renowned philosopher of our generation, Dory from Finding Nemo, Just keep swimming.

I hope you have a lovely rest of your week.

Sending you all my love,

Bridget

xoxo

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I’m running a half marathon this weekend.

Shocking, I know.

This is coming from a girl that hasn’t run over 2 miles since high school (with the exception of a 4-mile Turkey Trot that nearly ended me).

Today, I am 29-years old and turning 30 later this year (August 22nd, if you feel so inclined to add it to your calendar).

Approaching 30 is funny because everyone acts like you’re old when you’re not.

When I mention that I’m turning 30 this year, people’s response is usually a rendition of, “WOW! The big 3-0! Crazyyyyy! How do you feel??”

As a summer birthday, I am young for my grade, which means nearly all of my friends have already turned 30.

So, I know the drill.

You get to choose one of two paths to take on your 30th birthday:

1. Have a nice, chill birthday celebration.

2. Have a full on meltdown followed by making a drastic and major life change.

I was overly eager to get started on path #2, so I decided to have several full on meltdowns in my mid to late 20s, followed by several drastic and major life changes.

Early bird gets the worm!

In the span of the last several years:

• I quit my job, took 6 months off, and found a new career that I love

• I moved across the country from NYC to Denver, Colorado

• I got engaged & subsequently, married!

There’s more, but those are the big hitters.

With that in mind, it may appear as though I’m destined towards path #1 for this 30th birthday: Have a nice, chill birthday celebration.

But that’s kind of boring.

So in absence of having another full on meltdown (who knows though, the year is young!), I’ve decided to engage in a different type of quarter life crisis.

Running a half marathon.

You might be wondering how we got here.

Let’s rewind, shall we?

It was August of 2025. We had moved from NYC to Denver the month prior. The sun was strong and so was the SPF on my face.

The air here has less oxygen and less cigarette smoke. More mountains and fewer people. Where there were once rats that ran over my feet as I walked through our neighborhood in Chinatown, there are now cute little bunnies hopping through our yard.

Welcome to Colorado.

I was in the throughs of wedding planning, which I would not wish upon my worst enemy.

I was having pain in my side for about a year, but I had a lovely doctor tell me, “It’s probably all just in your head,” so I took his sage advice and ignored it.

Until one fine Tuesday morning when I was barely able to get out of bed.

Three doctor visits later, after I insisted that, “something is very wrong,” I got the verdict.

Something was in fact, very wrong!

Within two days, I was scheduled for surgery and rescheduled for my final wedding dress fitting. Our wedding day was 4 weeks away.

Surgery went well, but it was, “a bit worse than expected,” which is doctor speak for, “your recovery is not going to be fun.”

By December, I was still trying to recover.

I lost most of my muscle, didn’t recognize myself in the mirror and felt all around, not great. It turns out that when you physically don’t feel well, you mentally don’t feel amazing either.

But as the wise Maya Angelou once said:

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude"

So I did what I often do whenever I need someone to snap me out of my pity party and give it to my straight.

I called my mom.

I told her what I wanted to do:

• Build back the muscle that I lost and then some

• Be strong enough to put my carry-on suitcase in the overhead bin without assistance (a lifelong goal of mine as a 5ft 2inch person)

• Run the Denver Half Marathon

• Feel like myself again

I was about to turn 30 after all. I was due for a full on meltdown!

As the kids say, my mom, “understood the assignment.”

She introduced me to a personal trainer at our local gym named Courtney. I signed up for my first session.

On a Tuesday morning at 7:45am, I showed up in a fitted polyester workout outfit that didn’t quite fit and a pair of sneakers with a small hole near my big toe. I hoped that I looked the part.

I was nervous, anxious, and embarrassed to be there.

Fortunately, Courtney is kind, generous, and exceedingly patient. We started with stretching and minor exercises that used only my body weight. When I couldn’t hold a plank for more than 10 seconds, she didn’t judge me. She told me that was a great start and adjusted the next few exercises to suit where I was at.

Fast forward 5 months.

At my session with Courtney yesterday, we chit chatted while I did my chin-ups. We talked about the importance of electrolytes while I held a plank. We talked about my recent NYC trip with my mom while I used the leg press machine (that’s right! I know how to use the machines now!).

This past weekend, I boarded a plane headed for NYC.

I put my suitcase in the overhead bin with ease, and frantically texted my husband to let him know the good news.

This Sunday, I’ll be running the Denver Half Marathon (and will be crossing the finish line with my mom!).

And, the most miraculous change of all, I feel like myself again.

I don’t think I can properly express how grateful I am to get to run this weekend. When I think back to where I was nearly a year ago today, it makes me teary eyed.

Sometimes birthdays are weird.

But sometimes they are exactly what I need to take a step back, look at my life, and make a change. Or, have a full on meltdown. Perhaps both!

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Sending you all my love,

Bridget

xoxo

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Hello there!

It’s Wednesday in Denver & it is SNOWY! It snowed over a foot last night with more to come.

I was warned by many people to stay inside all day, but I went to college in Wisconsin.

And, as my friend from Wisconsin’s mom would say:

“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes.”

She’s right. In more ways than one.

This morning, I got bundled up the way that I learned to in the frozen tundra of Madison, Wisconsin. When you go to college with 50,000 other students, you can rely on one thing to always be true.

The buses in the winter are always full.

The bus would actually pull up to my stop, open the doors, reveal everyone squished up against each other inside, and close again within a few seconds. Sometimes as the bus drove away you were also splashed with a mixture of slush and snow and ice and mud. Nice.

The point is, you were never going to get on the bus, so you better learn to bundle up. Wool socks, snow boots, jeans, wool pants underneath, turtleneck, sweatshirt, scarf, parka, hat, and sunglasses. You’d shiver to your next destination in temperatures that made your phone stop working & froze your eyelashes together.

There is a fantastic hill in Madison called “Bascom Hill.” It was very steep & would get very snowy and icy. You’d trudge up the hill & watch as at least a few fellow students were sliding all the way back down to the bottom. If this sounds absurd, it’s because it was.

Upon arrival to your destination, an overly heated lecture hall of 400+ students, you would rip off all the excess clothing and sweat through your wool socks for the next hour. It was all a right of passage.

And it brings us to today.

Why am I telling you any of this?

Well for starters, it’s very fun to tell everyone that I (a California girl!) survived -50 degree temperatures in Wisconsin. It makes me feel tough.

But also, it’s a helpful reminder to me that, “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes.”

Might I offer an alternate version that hits home for me lately, “there’s no such thing as bad art, just a bad attitude.”

I like making things. I always have. Sometimes it’s comics, writing, cooking, drawing, painting, singing. All of it!

The making of the thing is the most fun part. The sharing of the thing is the least fun part. It feels daunting to give people something so precious as something I have literally made (except when I make my flourless chocolate cake for people, because that is always a hit).

It’s funny to me how the sharing is what stalls me. Halts me in my tracks and makes me second guess myself.

As seen in the speech bubble in the above comic, “what if no one likes it?”

Which is a sneaky way of also wondering, by extension, “what if no one likes ME?”

But I’m not making stuff for anyone else! I’m making stuff because I need it.

Making stuff helps me work through things. What feels heavy to me starts to feel a bit lighter once I make something about it. There’s something about making something that didn’t exist before that makes me feel better.

I wrote about similar topics in my last piece, 15 things to do when everything feels like too much, and it bears repeating.

There’s a quote by choreographer Martha Graham that I love. It is both slightly dramatic & true:

“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.”

Anyway, my point is this: making stuff is cool. Sharing it can also be cool but it’s also not the point.

So how do you get out of your own way?

One step at a time, baby.

Set a timer for 10 minutes. Make something during that time. When the timer goes off, you can end it there, or go for another 10 minutes. I find that getting started is the hardest part.

I hope you have a lovely day!

Sending you all my love,

Bridget

xoxo

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I keep thinking to myself, “What good does this do when there’s so much bad in the world?”

It’s a tempting thought. It’s also the wrong question to ask.

And of course, it functions as a convenient excuse to not make anything at all.

But today is a new day.

I’m feeling inspired by my Uncle Chuck, a remarkable artist, designer & writer, who once had a comics column in a newspaper. He is a huge inspiration to me. Fun fact: he also designed the table signs for our wedding (they were modeled as street signs with drawings from where we/our family grew up).

My Uncle Chuck has always encouraged me to draw every day. No matter what.

Well, I haven’t been doing that.

But a recent post of his reminded me of the beauty of making something.

“I was one of those kids who never moved on, drawing every day until, I suppose, work got too busy. When COVID upended our lives, I reverted back, just simple drawings, sometimes inspired by interesting people on the zoom screen.

Should not require a pandemic to return us to the things we love, but whatever it takes, grateful to be back, especially in these times, with a pencil in hand.”

My first thought: I love my Uncle Chuck.

My second thought: Wait, why aren’t I doing this again?

I like making things because it makes me happy to do so, that’s about it.

Putting pressure on myself to qualify the worthiness of what I make is the perfect recipe for not making anything at all. Sometimes all I make in a day is a hot cup of tea or my bed or dinner. How wonderful!

I constantly need to remind myself that I’m human, so I’m pretty much designed to make, create, and try things out.

It’s true that perhaps my art will not be world-changing or epiphany-creating or mind-blowing. Does it need to be? I don’t think so.

Perhaps it’s just enjoyable. Perhaps it’s not even that. But the act of making something out of nothing, that’s the part that I’m in love with.

I loved this quote from Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer, that I found in Mari Andrew’s most recent piece (How to find your passion in life - SO GOOD):

“Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you. Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live up to, let your life tell you what truths you embody, what values you represent.”

I love the idea that part of your “life’s purpose” (I am of the belief that we have many purposes), is simply doing stuff that you love to do. The kind of stuff that, if you don’t do it, you miss it!

And man, I really do miss it. I miss comics. I miss writing. I miss making a doodle that makes me smile. It’s strange because I have made comics, but I’ve been nervous to share them. Which tells me that a good chunk of this is just fear of how others may perceive what I make. As we all know, it’s a weird time in our world.

But alas, sometimes it helps to have a period of not making much to be reminded that the making, not the end result or the reaction, is the best part.

So, below you will find a list of things I’ve been doing since we last chatted. Some of it involved making things, but most of it didn’t.

It also functions as a list of ideas to try when things simply feel like too much!

Enjoy. Or don’t. I had fun writing this anyway.

15 things to do when everything feels like too much

1. Bake a flourless chocolate cake

Buy a tub of vanilla ice cream. Microwave a slice of the cake & add a scoop of ice cream on top. Give that plate to your friend who will ask for the recipe and say, “this is incredible, you made this??” Bask in the glory.

2. Learn how to do a new activity

Perhaps snowboarding. Even though everyone tells you that skiing is easier to learn, harder to master, and snowboarding is harder to learn and easier to master. Ignore everyone. Take a lesson. Befriend a fellow snowboarding newbie named Ari. High five after every successful turn. Double high five after every fall.

3. Lift some weights

I don’t know why this works, but it does. Admire how good your butt looks in your jeans.

4. Go for a walk at night before bed

Even when it’s cold, even when you don’t want to. Put on a coat and some boots. Enjoy the stars.

5. Call your friends

Call your family. Call that person you’re almost embarrassed to call because it’s been so long. They want to hear from you.

6. Cook a chicken dish for your mom

Use an elaborate recipe that your chef-friend made for you one time. Search the grocery aisles for esoteric ingredients like molasses syrup. Ask 3 different store employees to help you find it. Cook the chicken. Send her home with leftovers.

7. Write down what you’re thinking

Find a pen. Find some paper. Write for 10 minutes. See what happens.

8. Reach out to someone new

Someone you’ve only met once. Zero expectation of friendship. Just to hang out. Everyone wants to be included.

9. Be in community

Invite people over for dinner. Go to a protest. Make plans and don’t cancel even though you’re tired.

10. Get into nature

Any nature. A park with dead grass and trees made of sticks still counts. Look for something beautiful and you’ll find it.

11. Do something nice for someone you know

For someone you don’t know. With no expectation of them returning the favor. Empty the dishwasher & load the dirty dishes. Just because.

12. Ask someone how they’re doing

Because you genuinely want to know, not just to be polite.

13. Tip your local barista

Good karma.

14. Tell the people you love that you love them

Often. More often than you think you need to. Pick up their calls when it’s inconvenient. Plan a trip to see them. Send them a text that says, “this made me think of you,” with a picture.

15. Make something

Anything. As much and as often as you can. You can start anytime.

For those of you who read this far, thank you!

Sending you all my love,

Bridget

xoxo

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Hello there & happy Tuesday!

I came up with the idea for this comic a long time ago, but just finished it last week on my flight back from California.

Hint: the best time to work on creative projects is on a plane. Snacks are delivered to you and the wifi never works anyway, so there are no distractions.

It’s true, I had a huge crush on someone in high school that was never going to be into me.

Yet I tricked myself into the idea that I just needed to, “try harder.”

Run faster (I was already fast).

Study more (I was already smart).

Be funnier (I am hilarious).

Be blonder (I have jet-black hair).

The ironic thing is that it didn’t matter how hard I tried or what I did. He just wasn’t that into me, and never would be.

I can still trick myself into this kind of thinking. That I just need to try harder. Do more. Work myself into the ground in an attempt to get something that probably just isn’t meant for me.

Instead of doing more this year, I am trying to simply be. Be the person I want to be. Let what (and who) is meant for me come into my life, when it’s time.

Yes, I still want to work hard and be the best Bridget I can be. I grew up in a family of overachievers so that much is inevitable.

But I want to work hard for myself, not because I’m chasing approval that may or may not be coming my way.

As we head into the new year, I’m excited. To be and do what I love.

Make comics. Write. See friends and family (hi, Grandpa! I’ll call you to make sure this made it into your email inbox). Reach out to long-distance friends (hi, Waves & Anna! Chatting with you two made my week!). Spend time with my ~husband~ (hi, Owen!). Cook fabulous meals. Be of service to others. Move my body. Be outside. Drink water. Explore new places. Try new activities.

Simple, and not always easy! But always worth it.

Anyway, that’s all for now.

Sending you lots of love & chat next week!

Xoxo

Bridget

P.S. If you’re receiving this for the first time, it’s probably because you’re my family/friend & I added your email to be a free subscriber! You didn’t think I asked for your email only to send you a wedding invite, did you?

All kidding aside, you may or may not know that I love to make comics and write. This year, I’m challenging myself to share on Substack more consistently, and I’d love to have you along for the ride!

Shoutout to Uncle Chuck, one of the OG subscribers, who continues to be a huge creative inspiration for me.

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Did you have an unrequited crush in high school? Set an intention for the new year? Have an unfortunate hair dye experience? I’d love to hear about it.

I don’t like New Year’s Eve.

Too much anticipation. Too much build up. Too many nights attempting to have, “the best New Year’s Eve EVER,” only to end up experiencing… well, not that.

But you know what I do love?

New Year’s Day.

The first day of the new year! Endless possibility! Anything could happen!

In the past, I’d spend New Year’s Eve in a sparkly top and fake eyelashes, racing to find the right party to be at when the ball dropped and the clock struck midnight. Which usually didn’t happen. It also meant that the first day of the New Year was spent hungover, under a mountain of blankets, attempting to eat a plain bagel with butter and waiting for the day to be over.

Not exactly a “happy” New Year.

Since I stopped drinking 5 years ago, things look different.

A particularly memorable recent New Year’s Eve involved eating a massive home cooked meal, playing Settlers of Catan, watching the ball drop in a different time zone, and being in bed by 9:30pm.

This allowed for my ideal New Year’s Day.

We woke up early. It was quiet, the rest of the world was sleeping.

We slipped on our wool socks, packed our hand warmers, and tugged on our backpacks, sloshing around with Camelbak packs filled to the brim. We ate our overnight oats from the Tupperware we packed the night prior, and hopped into the car, with our butt warmers on high.

45 minutes later, we were at the base of a mountain, covered in snow.

We adjusted our “cramp-ons” (yes, that’s the official word for the spiky things that go over your hiking shoes to make sure you don’t slip on ice) and set off.

Every step made fresh tracks in the snow. The trees were covered in a heavy blanket. We shook a few branches to watch the snowflakes fall. The powder crunched beneath our feet as we chugged along. The hike felt other worldly, as though we were the only people on the mountain.

A few hours and RX bars later, we made it to the top. Everything looked quiet and peaceful. The world still seemed to be asleep.

I took a deep breath in, and as I let it out and the steam gathered in front of my face, I felt at peace.

Like I said, life is different now.

I’m so very grateful.

This year, we’re in California and it’s raining quite a bit, so tomorrow will likely be less hiking and more sitting by a fireplace (another ideal New Year’s day activity).

Whether you’re partying tonight or staying in, I hope you have a lovely (and safe!) evening.

2025 was quite the year. I’m excited for all that’s to come.

Wishing you & your family & friends all the best!

Xoxo

Bridget

I’m writing this while sitting in Cincinnati, Ohio, with my two year old niece sitting on the couch beside me. She just woke up from her nap and we’re wearing matching pajamas. We spent the morning with my older brother, sister in law (with baby #2 in her belly!), twin brother and mom (also all in matching PJs).

We made breakfast burritos and my niece helped everyone open their presents.

A highlight: her opening a little purse I gave her, emptying out all the contents (“dump!”), refilling it, and doing it all over again (“again!”).

Watching everyone together and my older brother & sister in law making new memories and traditions for her… well, I’m feeling a little nostalgic.

So I’m taking you back to December 1st, roughly 13 years ago.

Wherever you are, I hope you get to a experience a bit of extra joy today.

If not, toss on Love Actually and fast forward to the Hugh Grant storyline. Or even better, watch The Holiday and marvel at Jude Law in a turtleneck.

Sending you love and comics in the meantime.

Xoxo Bridget (and Kennedy)

Hello hello!

These are some thoughts on being a bride! Which is beautiful and wonderful but also carries with it quite a bit of pressure!

I drew this the week before our wedding & finished it last week on our honeymoon.

It feels odd to share something like this when there is soooo much other stuff going on in the world but alas, these are human feelings! And we! Are! Humans!

Making comics always helps me sort out what I’m feeling & why. I didn’t expect to feel so much pressure to look/sound/be a certain way ahead of the wedding, but I did. I hope this may help a past/present/future bride out there who may be feeling that pressure too ♥️

Xoxo

Bridget

Hello! I’m trying to get back into the doodling game and wow. I forgot how much I missed it. How much I love it. I forgot how much of a relief it is to feel things so intensely and then find a way to get it out of my mind and down on paper with a touch of humor.

I’ve been feeling like a failure in so many aspects of life recently. As a colleague, friend, family member, partner, creative person.

My partner asked me if that is the real truth or if it’s just what I’m telling myself. I logically know that it’s the latter, but I emotionally feel like this! Is! It! I am letting everyone down! In every way! They’re all mad at me! AH!

The reality is, no one is thinking about me that much. Everyone is probably busy, like me, thinking about their own life and anxieties. What a relief!

But, as my twin brother reminded me, this stuff just happens sometimes. Sometimes life is overwhelming. Sometimes I try to do too much. Sometimes I need to take a breather. Eat a cookie. Draw a fish and a starfish exchanging an honest, vulnerable and ultimately heartwarming conversation under the sea.

So maybe this is a good time for you to check in with yourself too.

Are you trying to do too much? Do you also need a cookie?

Hint: if the answer to the former is yes, then the answer to the latter is also yes.

I hope this comic made you smile.

And thank you to the fishes in my life that lift me up when I’m feeling down.

xoxo Bridget

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A week of vacation always helps put things into perspective. I’m trying to carry this thought with me.

Hope you have a lovely week ahead!

xoxo

Bridget

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We’ll be getting back to our regularly scheduled programming of a doodle every week or two. I have a LOT of them that I want to share.

Hope you’ve had a lovely start to your year! If not, nowhere to go but up!

Either way, below is a doodle that I’m proud of (you’ll need to scroll to see the full comic, it’s a long one). I hope it can be a gentle reminder for all of us as we head into 2025.

Thank you for being patient with me <3

All my love,

Bridget

It is ELECTION DAY!! What a privilege to be able to vote. Wow.

Fact: In 1965, all women (regardless of race and/or language barriers) were legally allowed to vote.

In 2024, I voted for Kamala Harris, who I hope to be the first woman president.

I voted for Kamala Harris & Tim Walz for a number of reasons, but one of the most important to me personally is ensuring the safety of my own healthcare and reproductive rights. Today I voted for myself, as well as for my baby niece, my mom, my stepmom, my grandma, my cousins, my sister-in-law, my aunts, my mother-in-law, my friends, and for all the women who came before me and those who will come after me.

I am voting to have the fundamental right to make decisions about my own body.

I have fear about the outcome of this election (which is natural, I’m only human!).

But my hope and my faith are what I choose to do about that fear.

I am choosing to vote and have my voice be heard.

I encourage you to do the same.

<3

Bridget 🥥🌴💙

It’s the eve of the election and I’m feeling a mix of things that everyone has already said a million different ways! With that being said, I did want to share this comic.

I am so proud and inspired by my grandma for not only voting for Kamala Harris but also for getting so involved in supporting her campaign and encouraging others to vote.

This is especially impressive given some of my grandma’s long-held personal beliefs.

As my grandma wrote, “this election is very important for you & for us too. So please vote as you see & know about our candidates.”

The hope is that we each look back in this time and feel that we did our part. That’s all we can do and that’s what I’m choosing to focus on. I feel that I did my part and for that, I feel at peace.

As grandma says, “Love you & you do make a difference & we are proud to call you special, thoughtful, and loving young adults.”

One more friendly reminder to vote tomorrow!!

<3

Bridget 🥥🌴💙

I meant to post this here during Father’s Day but completely forgot!

Alas, better late than never. I love my dad more than I can put into words or a comic ♥️ grateful every day to be his daughter (& to share some silly mannerisms).

I love you more! 🤟🏼

Hope you all have a great Sunday!

xoxo

Bridget

P.S. If you’re enjoying this comic newsletter & know someone who can relate, it’d mean a lot to me if you shared it with them.

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A comic that I drew post-debate last week. I think this sums up the experience.

Hope you have a great day & fingers crossed for this election season (eep!).

xoxo

Bridget

P.S. If you’re enjoying this comic newsletter & know someone who can relate, I’d love if you shared it with them <3

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One of my favorite comics to date. I made this diary comic a while ago and it still makes me laugh.

Hope you have a great day!

xoxo

Bridget

P.S. If you’re enjoying this comic newsletter & know someone who can relate, it’d mean a lot to me if you could share it with them <3

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xoxo

Bridget

P.S. As always, if you think someone would enjoy this newsletter, please share it with them!

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I love to try & “do” my way out of feeling even the slightest bit of discomfort—unfortunately, it turns out that doesn’t really work.

I sometimes think that if I can just do more—more work, more exercise, more cleaning, more helping, more calling, more reading, more more more—then everything will be okay.

I’m trying to remind myself that it is the human “being,” that is, living life on life’s terms, that makes everything actually okay.

Have a great day & try not to “do” so much!

xoxo

Bridget

P.S. Thank you to my literal angel of a therapist (Katherine <3) for this.

And as always, if you think someone would enjoy this newsletter, please share it with them!

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Happy Friday! Like I mentioned in the last post, I was given the advice to start drawing daily diary comics. Which means taking pen to paper, every day, no matter what, and writing/drawing a comic. Even when I don’t want to, even when I have nothing to say, even when I’m tired.

I didn’t like that advice, but I did it anyway.

I’ve made a diary comic nearly every night since then & I love it. I lay in bed, close my eyes, & go through the day. there’s always something that makes me laugh & I try to get it down on paper.

It feels weird to draw something so different from the digital comics I usually make, but I think that’s kind of the point!

Here are a few hand drawn comics that I scanned yesterday.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Xoxo,

Bridget

P.S. Grandpa—this one’s for you! I’ll call you later to make sure you see this. If you still aren’t getting this in your email inbox, the emails might be going to your spam or junk folder (you can move them to your primary inbox). I love you!!! <3

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Good morning!

While at MoCCA Fest (comic & cartoon arts festival) a few weeks ago I met John Hendrix, a New York Times Bestselling illustrator and author & Professor at Sam Fox School of Art and Design at Washington University in St. Louis. His work has appeared in every major magazine & newspaper you can possibly imagine (!).

We started chatting & he kindly offered to do a portfolio review with me. For those of you who don’t know what a portfolio review is (because I didn’t and asked him), it’s basically when someone gives you feedback on your body of work. I was terrified—sharing art feels so vulnerable already that the idea of someone with his experience not liking the doodles felt like a worst case scenario—but excited that he was willing to evaluate my work. I sent him my favorite comics and waited for our Zoom meeting.

The Portfolio Review

We met over Zoom the following Wednesday morning. John proceeded to give me insanely helpful feedback (+1 to me for interpreting his comments as genuine feedback rather than criticism, which tends to be my default setting). I am truly blown away by his generosity, kindness, and keen perspective. He also had some very kind words for the doodles, which was nice.

The Advice

One of the best pieces of advice John gave me was to start drawing daily diary comics. This means taking pen to paper, every day, no matter what, and writing/drawing a several-panel comic. Even when I don’t want to, even when I have nothing to say, even when I’m tired. He reminded me that since I’m so used to a digital medium (Procreate on the iPad), that the drawings likely would look “worse” to me. The point is not to make a good drawing/comic, but to draw & write every day. He also mentioned that drawing with ink on paper is one of the first things that the MFA program suggests for digital artists—it can help artists trust their own lines.

I hated the idea, but did it anyway. The first night I got into bed and pulled out my sketchpad with a thin Sharpie. I went through my day in my head and started doodling and writing until suddenly I had filled up the entire page.

The Diary Comics

The next morning I went to the gym & ended up working out on the Stairmaster next to Jared Leto. I was buzzing for the rest of the day—I couldn’t wait to make a comic about it.

And here we are, 12 days & ~20 comics later. I still get excited to come up with something every night before bed.

I’m shocked at how much I love using pen & paper for comics. An interesting point from John that I hadn’t considered (I am paraphrasing): the iPad can raise the floor of drawing so dramatically but it can also lower the ceiling without us realizing it.

The comics are different when I hand-draw them. They’re sharper & to the point. Which makes sense, because with the iPad I have endless colors and textures to choose from. With just a pen and ink, the options are limited (and I can’t erase), so I end up drawing with more confidence & conviction.

The point of all of this is to say that the above comic was from last night, after I tried to touch up my eyebrows and ended up overdoing it (original drawing below).

Here’s to more diary comics & thinner eyebrows.

I hope you have a lovely week!

Best,

Bridget

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