Hello beautiful,

I had another singing lesson today. In fact, I don’t think we should even call them singing lessons anymore; we should call them therapy sessions with singing as a bonus. I told Elissa, the vocal coach, about the updates—how I’ve taken up both singing and piano lessons—and she did what she does best: deep-dived into how I was feeling about it all. She could sense that I was overwhelmed, trying to juggle everything at once on top of a full-time job.

She reminded me that singing isn’t a linear path. Some days it goes up, some days it goes down, and sometimes it moves sideways—because the body is made of flesh and blood, not machinery. It’s not always consistent. Patience is the key she keeps trying to drill into me, and then she asked the hard question: why am I trying to rush the process?

I told her it was because I wanted to show I’d done some work so I didn’t show up to her lessons empty-handed. But the real reason, which I only realised later, is that all her students are encouraged to perform at the end-of-term showcase—which is in two months—and I can barely match pitch with confidence right now. I think I’m nervous and anxious about it, and that’s affecting my voice.

So we spent some time afterward just doing breathing exercises, and then used the last few minutes to work on the song Chasing Cars. We actually made a lot of progress with it, which gave my confidence a boost. I really love this mix of therapy and singing, and her whole approach—where the mind plays such a big role in how you produce sound. She’s not the kind of teacher who makes you start doing scales the moment you walk through the door. Instead, she helps you ground yourself first. I didn’t even know that was part of singing. It’s one of those skills and mindsets I know I’ll carry into other areas of life, too.

In other news, I’ve been talking more with Suf, the guy I connected with on Hinge. I found out today that he broke up with his partner about seven weeks ago and is moving to Melbourne to start fresh. He was in a 19-year relationship—and he’s only 30 years old (well, that’s what his profile says). That’s a long time, and I can’t even begin to imagine how he’s feeling right now.

I asked him what he’s looking for on the app, and he said he’s not looking for a partner or relationship at the moment (fair enough). He said he’s just looking for companionship, and he hoped that wouldn’t deter me from continuing this friendship.

My first reaction? Why does the universe keep sending me emotionally unavailable men? I’m like a magnet for it, dammit. But secondly, I value connection too much to let the chance for something meaningful pass by—even if it only ends in friendship. Let’s just hope I don’t fall for this guy too.

Move through life with that awesome energy, buddy.

Chat soon. xx