dru this is SO GOOD!! firstly, so proud of u for standing on business and committing to your morals and values, not too many people can say the same, for precisely the reasons you highlighted in this essay! you named something that is incredibly prevalent in society but rarely identified beyond a surface level, and you did it with exquisite writing that captivated me as always! skin deep resistance is so entrancing to so many because it doesn’t require the hard work and sacrifices that true resistance asks for. thank you for your words and A++ white lotus reflection!!
“skin deep resistance is so entrancing to so many because it doesn’t require the hard work + sacrifices that true resistance asks for” BARS !!!! when i tell you you get me like no one else !!! your engagement always means everything to me💞💞 also giving me a possibly unmerited A++ might’ve added 3 years to my life ! thank you for getting it. thank you for being here💗🌟 xx
Congrats on standing in your integrity! While I agree with the older people you spoke to who said, “life gets harder,” perhaps if you’d have spoken with people more like you, who had also made life choices based in their morals & ethics they would tell you the same: life does get harder, but as you age you also notice a difference between those who have lived by their integrity and those who have sold it along the way. You can’t buy it back. You can’t rewrite your own story to make yourself sound better. When you choose to live from your heart & integrity life actually becomes richer. You can lean on your choices as you go, not try to hide them in case someone finds them, because they do define you from the inside out. Those are foundations money can’t buy. You’re good. Stay true, Dru! 💫
DRU !!!!🌟🫶🏽 thank you so much for this kind comment <3 you managed to put so many of my little niggling anxieties to rest. permission to reach out the next time i have a life altering decision to make pls ??? forever so very grateful to have you here 💌
I read this piece as soon as you published it, and I’ve been thinking about it nonstop.
Your reflections on the tension between ideals and actions really hit home, especially Gaitok’s story, which broke my heart.
The “inconvenience of integrity” is such a powerful concept! I love how you captured that, how real transformation happens when we choose to stay true to what we believe, even when it’s uncomfortable. To embody who we claim to be in our hearts and minds. I know from my own experience how difficult it can be to stay firm in our ideals, especially when those around us push for compromise.
I really want to congratulate you for the bravery of aligning your ideals with your actions. It takes so much strength, and I truly admire that. Thank you for sharing this amazing piece, it’s sparked a lot of thoughts in me.
ximena💌 this is such a thoughtful and kind comment, i almost don't know what to do with myself!! thank you for engaging with this essay so meaningfully - it fills me with such joy that it resonated with you so deeply! you've conveyed such a profound understanding of everything i was trying to get at and i feel so very seen by it! the inconvenience of integrity is something i continue to wrestle with, so to hear that you too have been there, reminds me that while this path is so often messy and uncomfortable, it’s also shared, and that makes it feel a little less lonely. thank you for being here, i will be thinking about this comment for the rest of the day!♡
DRU! i'm so proud of you for turning your rejection of something that goes against your morals into this poignant and personal essay. this all resonates so deeply as i continue to be shocked by people who live any other way - prioritizing personal gain over collective liberation. i haven't watched white lotus but you weaving in these broader concepts of excess wealth, sacrifice and moral culpability was so powerful to read. thank you, friend 🫀
rimshaa!!!<3333 thank you so much for this kind comment - it always brings me such joy to see you here! i know exactly what you mean, its so jarring to hear how quickly people discard their values whenever they get a whiff of an opportunity that benefits them. thank you for getting me and alway seeing where i'm coming from. i'm amazed that you even read this essay despite not having watched white lotus!! so grateful for you, always!
thanks for this! it's super well-written and raises important points about how personal ambition is not the only consideration in life. the consciousness of the collective looms over those of us who want to challenge neoliberal orthodoxy, but even a morally sound position often produces this pang of guilt or feelings of inadequacy.
I have grappled with similar decisions to yours - and in the long term I'm always glad of my choice, but in the moment it feels like I'm letting my future slip away. but it's the opposite - it's preserving your soul and sense of self. congrats on sticking with your choice!
I loved you using Gaitok and Belinda's decisions in the last episode of The White Lotus to illustrate this conundrum and how their actions reflect a prevalence in our society, and all the contradictions of ambition and survival this demonstrates. Thanks for writing this!
wow tommy, thank you so much for this kind and thoughtful comment💌 i love how you’ve engaged with this essay and related it to your own experiences as well! you have no idea how much i appreciate you being here <3
dru this is SO GOOD!! firstly, so proud of u for standing on business and committing to your morals and values, not too many people can say the same, for precisely the reasons you highlighted in this essay! you named something that is incredibly prevalent in society but rarely identified beyond a surface level, and you did it with exquisite writing that captivated me as always! skin deep resistance is so entrancing to so many because it doesn’t require the hard work and sacrifices that true resistance asks for. thank you for your words and A++ white lotus reflection!!
“skin deep resistance is so entrancing to so many because it doesn’t require the hard work + sacrifices that true resistance asks for” BARS !!!! when i tell you you get me like no one else !!! your engagement always means everything to me💞💞 also giving me a possibly unmerited A++ might’ve added 3 years to my life ! thank you for getting it. thank you for being here💗🌟 xx
Congrats on standing in your integrity! While I agree with the older people you spoke to who said, “life gets harder,” perhaps if you’d have spoken with people more like you, who had also made life choices based in their morals & ethics they would tell you the same: life does get harder, but as you age you also notice a difference between those who have lived by their integrity and those who have sold it along the way. You can’t buy it back. You can’t rewrite your own story to make yourself sound better. When you choose to live from your heart & integrity life actually becomes richer. You can lean on your choices as you go, not try to hide them in case someone finds them, because they do define you from the inside out. Those are foundations money can’t buy. You’re good. Stay true, Dru! 💫
DRU !!!!🌟🫶🏽 thank you so much for this kind comment <3 you managed to put so many of my little niggling anxieties to rest. permission to reach out the next time i have a life altering decision to make pls ??? forever so very grateful to have you here 💌
haha - f’sure! We get there together 💫
I read this piece as soon as you published it, and I’ve been thinking about it nonstop.
Your reflections on the tension between ideals and actions really hit home, especially Gaitok’s story, which broke my heart.
The “inconvenience of integrity” is such a powerful concept! I love how you captured that, how real transformation happens when we choose to stay true to what we believe, even when it’s uncomfortable. To embody who we claim to be in our hearts and minds. I know from my own experience how difficult it can be to stay firm in our ideals, especially when those around us push for compromise.
I really want to congratulate you for the bravery of aligning your ideals with your actions. It takes so much strength, and I truly admire that. Thank you for sharing this amazing piece, it’s sparked a lot of thoughts in me.
ximena💌 this is such a thoughtful and kind comment, i almost don't know what to do with myself!! thank you for engaging with this essay so meaningfully - it fills me with such joy that it resonated with you so deeply! you've conveyed such a profound understanding of everything i was trying to get at and i feel so very seen by it! the inconvenience of integrity is something i continue to wrestle with, so to hear that you too have been there, reminds me that while this path is so often messy and uncomfortable, it’s also shared, and that makes it feel a little less lonely. thank you for being here, i will be thinking about this comment for the rest of the day!♡
DRU! i'm so proud of you for turning your rejection of something that goes against your morals into this poignant and personal essay. this all resonates so deeply as i continue to be shocked by people who live any other way - prioritizing personal gain over collective liberation. i haven't watched white lotus but you weaving in these broader concepts of excess wealth, sacrifice and moral culpability was so powerful to read. thank you, friend 🫀
rimshaa!!!<3333 thank you so much for this kind comment - it always brings me such joy to see you here! i know exactly what you mean, its so jarring to hear how quickly people discard their values whenever they get a whiff of an opportunity that benefits them. thank you for getting me and alway seeing where i'm coming from. i'm amazed that you even read this essay despite not having watched white lotus!! so grateful for you, always!
thanks for this! it's super well-written and raises important points about how personal ambition is not the only consideration in life. the consciousness of the collective looms over those of us who want to challenge neoliberal orthodoxy, but even a morally sound position often produces this pang of guilt or feelings of inadequacy.
I have grappled with similar decisions to yours - and in the long term I'm always glad of my choice, but in the moment it feels like I'm letting my future slip away. but it's the opposite - it's preserving your soul and sense of self. congrats on sticking with your choice!
I loved you using Gaitok and Belinda's decisions in the last episode of The White Lotus to illustrate this conundrum and how their actions reflect a prevalence in our society, and all the contradictions of ambition and survival this demonstrates. Thanks for writing this!
wow tommy, thank you so much for this kind and thoughtful comment💌 i love how you’ve engaged with this essay and related it to your own experiences as well! you have no idea how much i appreciate you being here <3