I go through phases where I become really fixated on something. Like 1960s Jell-O desserts. Peacock chairs. A character on a TV show. Sometimes it’s a theme or a concept, like glamour or rejection. Or completely unattainable and outrageous goals, like that time my life mission was to meet Joan Rivers. I affectionally call all these fixations-slash-passions my obsessions.

I believe obsessions serve a purpose. When we connect the dots and understand why we are obsessed with something (or someone), we get to know ourselves and the world around us better.

OBSESSED is a weekly newsletter where I explore the meaning of obsessions and what they teach us about ourselves through personal essays and interviews.