When I was a kid, my brother loved to tease me. I’d snap back, “Stop it! I’m serious!”
Without missing a beat, he’d  say, “I thought you were Danielle.”
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At the time, that smart-aleck response drove me nuts. But recently, it hit me in a new way—and honestly? It was kind of profound.

Being “serious” is a mindset, not an identity.

We often confuse the two. We wear seriousness like it’s a requirement for being responsible adults. But what if we could choose when to be serious—and more importantly, what to be serious about?

For me, the only thing I truly want to be serious about now is my well-being.
That’s how Seriously Carefree was born.

From Heavy to Light(ish)

I didn’t come to this realization overnight.

Like many of you, I have plenty of reasons to be serious.

My dad passed away when I was a teenager. My mom died from cancer. My brother has a developmental disability. I’ve had high-pressure jobs that looked good on paper but left me emotionally drained. I even quit one of those jobs mid-pandemic—with zero certainty of what was next.

I’m also naturally a deep thinker. And while that’s a strength, life’s challenges turned it into a trap.

I found myself stuck in questions like:

Why is this happening to me? Who am I really? Can I follow my bliss and still pay the bills?
The more I lived in my head, the more distant I felt from the spontaneous, playful person I used to be. My mind was cautious, overanalyzing everything. But my heart? My heart just wanted to be free.

Doing Happy, Not Just Being Happy

In my search for clarity, I dove deep into books, podcasts, and personal growth frameworks. And I kept bumping into the same lesson—phrased a dozen ways, but always the same truth:

Happiness is a mindset. It’s not determined by what’s happening outside of you.

At first, that felt a little too simple. But eventually, I realized: if I wanted to feel better, I had to start by choosing to be happy.

Then came the second step--doing happy. Not just thinking about joy, but scheduling it. Prioritizing it. Making room for activities that sparked creativity, laughter, and connection.

That’s when everything started to shift.

Why I Do What I Do

Over the years, I’ve worn a lot of hats—life coach, academic advisor, internship coordinator, university instructor. Every role centered around helping people figure out who they are and what they want.

Now, through Seriously Carefree, I get to share what I’ve learned with you.

My hope is that this space becomes your gentle nudge to play more, worry less, and remember who you are beyond the stress and the titles. I’ll be sharing simple tools, uplifting stories, and mindset shifts that help you trade burnout for balance—and bring more lightness into your day.

If you’ve ever felt like life’s gotten a little too serious, you’re not alone. But here’s the good news:

You get to choose how you show up.

You can be wise and lighthearted. You can be successful and silly. You can be seriously committed to your joy.

Let’s Stay Connected 💛

If this message spoke to you, I’d love to keep the conversation going.

👉 Follow Seriously Carefree on Instagram for daily reminders to play, rest, and protect your peace—because joy is a practice.

You’ll find bite-sized inspiration, real talk about burnout, and practical tips to help you live more freely (without ditching your responsibilities).
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✨ Let’s make space for joy—together.

So many people want to know what it means to be seriously carefree? You can interpret that phrase many ways. To me, it means to take your wellbeing seriously. 

As adults, we have so many responsibilities. We could go hours, if not days and weeks, before we do something for ourselves.

I prefer doing a few small things for myself throughout the day rather than hope for a whole day to just unwind.

The other day we had a rare snowstorm. I paused adulting to go play in the snow. Watching it collect on the branches and trying to catch flakes on my tongue brought back my childhood excitement and wonder.

I felt energized and renewed. Happy. It only took 20 minutes to change my outlook on the whole day.

Be spontaneous. Seize opportunities like these. Your tasks will be there when you are done, but the opportunity, like melting snow, will be gone.

​In U.S. culture it is popular for people to start implementing new goals on January first.
 
The plan is set, and they are ready to go with their resolutions. It makes sense. It’s the beginning of a new calendar year, so why not start on day one?
 
I wonder how many people are more like me. I set my goals January first through approximately January 15th. I use this time to reflect upon the last year, refine old goals, and dream up new possibilities.
 
December’s many holiday distractions prevent me from deep goal setting. It isn’t until January when I can get a fresh look at my goals. Winter is hitting its stride by then, making it a great time to turn inward.
 
January is like a pie baking in the oven. The aromas fill the kitchen. The crust turns golden brown. Time to get out the cooling rack and set the table.
 
It is not time to eat yet. The pie will be undercooked if taken out too soon. It will burn your mouth if eaten before it cools.
 
Goal setting is the same. New information will be overlooked if you set them using the old energy of the waning year. Details may be missed, deadlines may need to shift, and the goal’s importance may fall away.
 
It is not to say that you can’t revise things later in the year. In fact, it is wise to revisit your goals quarterly. But don’t rush to set them in December.
 
Baking is for January.

Over the summer I have been photographing flowers all over Oregon. Here's a sneak peak.