Thank you for being part of that story.

Colleagues: If you’d like to stay in touch, please reach out. I genuinely think you’re some of the raddest, most badass people I’ve ever had the privilege of working alongside.

For almost ten years, this work and the people in it have been a constant source of strength, support, and solidarity. I’m leaving with gratitude, not regret. I’ll always be grateful for the connections, the lessons, the memories, and the evolution that came with being Serafina.

I’ve experienced profound loss, betrayal in spaces where I should have found solace, love, heartbreak, and healing. This community has witnessed and held space for me through some of the most difficult seasons of my life, and celebrated some of the sweetest.

It’s challenged my beliefs and strengthened my values. It’s given me a deeper respect for folks who haven’t been afforded the same opportunities I’ve had because of my positionality.

This work has afforded me the opportunity to earn multiple degrees and certifications, took me across the country and around the world, and taught me how to love myself fiercely, live boldly, and put myself first; sometimes for the very first time.

This isn’t a decision I take lightly, but at this time it is the right path for me to take. This chapter has given me more than I ever could have imagined. I’ve met incredible people, had unforgettable experiences, and done some genuinely cool shit.

Thank you!

Fifteen years in, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. For the people who loved me when I couldn’t love myself, for the community that carried me, and for the life I get to live today. I don’t take a single bit of it for granted.

I didn’t start this work until I had five years clean, so it was never a survival strategy for me. I want to be clear though, that those who do engage in survival work have every right to do so. Their stories deserve respect, not stigma.

It also matters to me that people understand the intersection of recovery and 🎷 work. The media loves to push the narrative that folks only do this work to support an addiction or because something is inherently wrong with them; but that isn’t the truth.

I’ve always been open about being in recovery because I think it’s important for people to see that it’s possible to bounce back and build a beautiful life, no matter what you’ve lived through.

😂

Now I can’t bully my date into watching the game 😤😅

I paid a lot of money for them

Two home runs?! My flabbers are gasted.