Ashes, Sass, and Sweet Revenge (The Classy Kind)

Isn’t it funny how life works? You’re already down—maybe from a failed project, business, a breakup, or the gut-punch of “we’ve decided to go in another direction”—and just when you think you’ve hit bottom, someone comes along to kick you while you’re down. Not even a soft nudge. A full-on steel-toe boot.

But here’s the plot twist they don’t expect: that version of you? They just helped cremate it. What rises from the ashes is someone they didn’t see coming.

I recently closed a business—heartbroken, broke-broke, and wondering what the hell I was going to do next. A "friend" (and I use the term loosely) said, “Well, maybe this just wasn’t your thing.” Ouch. I swallowed that burn and quietly made a vow: watch me.

Fast forward—at least, in the version I’ve played out in my head—new business, thriving art career, and more peace than I ever had with myself. Then one day, in this imagined future, that same “friend” slides into my inbox asking for a favor, a connection, a foot in the door. And me? I smile, type, “Thanks, but I’m not available for that 😉,” and hit send. The satisfaction? Absolutely empowering.

Here’s the truth: people will try to define you by your lowest point. Let them. While they gossip, judge or criticize, you rebuild. Stronger. Smarter. Wiser. And when they circle back to sip your success, you get to say the most powerful phrase in the English language: No, thank you.

So, if you’re in the ashes right now, take your time. Grieve. Scream. Eat the cake. But then rise. And when you do—picture this—you're headlining the comeback of a lifetime, and they’re stuck outside the velvet rope, watching through the glass. That’s not just survival. That’s the full-circle moment.

Cake - 2025 - 48x36 - acrylic on canvas