SOWN
Life
Relationships, community, and the women worth knowing.
SPOTLIGHT
Women Worth Knowing
Conversations with women who are building something meaningful.
Stephanie Flores is a veteran, mother, and an advocate. She has every reason to be cynical, but instead, she's still fighting. Still refusing to look away.
We talked about growing up in Ecuador, raising her daughter Mila in a world that doesn't always make space for Black girls, and navigating breast cancer while learning that vulnerability isn't weakness.
And then she said something that stopped me in my tracks: "We're always living in purpose. Everything that happens in our life is not a coincidence."
This conversation is about community, motherhood, and what it means to keep showing up even when life gets heavy.
If you've ever felt like you're falling behind or haven't figured it all out yet, this one's for you.
Archive
All Essays
Stephanie Flores is a veteran, mother, and an advocate. She has every reason to be cynical, but instead, she's still fighting. Still refusing to look away.
We talked about growing up in Ecuador, raising her daughter Mila in a world that doesn't always make space for Black girls, and navigating breast cancer while learning that vulnerability isn't weakness.
And then she said something that stopped me in my tracks: "We're always living in purpose. Everything that happens in our life is not a coincidence."
This conversation is about community, motherhood, and what it means to keep showing up even when life gets heavy.
If you've ever felt like you're falling behind or haven't figured it all out yet, this one's for you.
When you pack up your life and move across the world, you quickly learn that some friendships were built on proximity, and others were built on something much deeper. Distance has a way of revealing what's real. Life back home doesn't pause—birthdays are celebrated without you, babies are born, careers shift. You're deeply connected to these people, yet just out of reach. There's a grief in that, sitting alongside all the joy and adventure. But here's what I've learned: long-distance doesn't diminish friendship, it can actually deepen it. The friendships that survive distance are the ones where both people are willing to stretch, to make the effort, to stay curious about each other's evolving lives. It's not about always being present in person. It's about being present in spirit, through voice notes at odd hours, shared TV shows across time zones, and the conscious choice to stay connected even when convenience fades.
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Bridgitte Tran is a former chiropractor turned breathwork practitioner and perimenopause guide for high-performing women. We sat down after class and talked about what rest actually is, why calm can feel uncomfortable, and what happens when a strong woman finally gives herself permission to put it down.