Their Distance Isn’t a Reflection of Your Value
When someone begins pulling away, it’s easy to make their distance about you. You replay conversations, wondering if you said something wrong. You question whether you were too emotional, too available, too independent, or somehow not enough. You search for the exact moment things changed, convinced that if you can identify your...
My Boyfriend’s Halloween Costume Is a Couples Costume With His Ex
MENACE BY TESSA PRESENTS DEAR TESSA LOVE, LIES & RED FLAGS LETTER NO. 025 | LOVE IS COMPLICATED She thought she was attending a Halloween party with her boyfriend. Then she discovered he’d already planned matching costumes with his ex-girlfriend. Apparently, the only thing scarier than the decorations is finding out...
The Writing Has Been on the Wall
Long before something falls apart, there are usually signs that it’s heading in that direction. They don’t always arrive dramatically. More often, they appear as subtle shifts we barely acknowledge. Conversations become shorter. Effort becomes one-sided. Excitement slowly turns into obligation. The peace you once felt is...
Case #008: Who Started the Office Halloween Costume Competition?
MENACE BY TESSA PRESENTS THE CASE FILES CASE NO. 008 | STATUS: CLOSED An ongoing investigation into unauthorized workplace festivities, suspicious costume budgets, and the alarming transformation of casual office fun into competitive warfare. 01. The Incident Report It started with an innocent email from Human Resources....
The Fairytale Was Missing a Few Pages
Most of us grew up believing some version of a fairytale. Maybe it came from movies, storybooks, songs, or the relationships we watched growing up. We were taught that one day we’d meet the right person, sparks would fly, and everything would somehow fall into place. We imagined love as something that would complete us, …...
Walking Away Changed Everything
There was a time when I believed walking away would ruin everything I’d worked so hard to build. I thought leaving meant starting over with nothing. I imagined I’d spend the rest of my life wondering if I had made the wrong decision. Fear painted a picture where staying felt safer than leaving, even though …...
I Accidentally Joined the Wrong Family Group Chat
MENACE BY TESSA PRESENTS DEAR TESSA CHAOS, CHOICES & CONSEQUENCES LETTER NO. 024 | THE WRONG FAMILY GROUP CHAT INCIDENT She clicked a group chat invitation thinking it belonged to her cousins. Instead, she found herself in the middle of a completely different family’s arguments, holiday plans, and decades-old...
Stop Settling for Less
Settling rarely feels like giving up. Most of the time, it feels like being practical. It sounds like telling yourself no relationship is perfect, that everyone has flaws, or that maybe you’re expecting too much. Slowly, those thoughts become permission to ignore your own needs. You stop asking whether you’re truly happy and...
Social Media Has Made Everyone Their Own Publicist
MENACE BY TESSA PRESENTS UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS OBSERVATION NO. 008 | COMPLETELY UNREQUESTED An unsolicited examination of personal branding, carefully curated authenticity, and the increasingly elaborate public relations campaigns surrounding perfectly ordinary human lives. 01. The Observation I’ve noticed...
Why He Likes You More When You Pull Away
It can feel incredibly confusing when someone seems more interested the moment you stop chasing them. You finally stop double-texting, stop initiating every conversation, and start focusing on your own life—and suddenly they’re reaching out more often. They like your posts, respond to your stories, or ask why you’ve been so...
