The Story We Choose to Live By

We are entering an age where truth feels negotiable.

A post-truth world.

Misinformation and disinformation spread faster than facts.

Deepfakes make imagination look indistinguishable from reality.

And virtual worlds are becoming so convincing that, soon, the “real world” won’t even feel like the default anymore.

It’s disorienting.

It’s confusing.

And it forces us to confront a deeper truth:

We don’t live in the world as it is.

We live in the world as we interpret it.

We choose what to believe.

We choose what to pay attention to.

We choose the people, ideas, and environments we surround ourselves with.

And those choices—collectively and quietly—shape our inner world.

They become the lens through which we see everything else.

The Private Story We All Tell

The human experience is, in many ways, an internal one.

Inside each of us is a narrator, constantly interpreting, explaining, and assigning meaning to what happens around us.

For some, that story is hopeful.

For others, it’s heavy.

Some craft a heroic narrative.

And others feel trapped in a tragedy.

The story itself varies, but the power we hold over it does not.

We are the ones who choose the meaning.

We are the ones who write the narrative.

And this is where our real freedom lives.

Not in our physical circumstances—because no matter who we are, we are tethered to the same human conditions.

We need sleep.

We need food.

We age.

We hurt.

We heal.

There are limits none of us can escape.

But internally—mentally—we are free to interpret.

Free to make sense.

Free to choose the meaning we assign.

Truth Evolves—And So Do We

Truth is not static.

It grows, expands, and matures as humanity does.

We advance by letting go of old stories that no longer serve us.

And embracing new ones that bring us closer to who we can become.

Every major shift in human progress—scientific, moral, cultural—began with someone willing to question a narrative.

And offer a better one.

This is where purpose comes in.

My Work Has Always Been About Story

For as long as I can remember, my purpose has been to help people and systems rewrite the stories that shape them.  

To make sense of the world, and put it into words. 

To question narratives that restrict human potential.

To name the myths that harm us.

To offer new ones that move us forward.

I’ve done this in many forms:

• Challenging the toxic belief that humans must specialize, and instead championing the power of human breadth—our natural polymathic intelligence.

  
  

• Rewriting outdated narratives about gay and lesbian parents in my master’s thesis, highlighting their resilience and strengths.

  
  

• Exposing the hidden truths within America’s criminal justice system through the Prison Transparency Project, revealing stories that have long been buried or distorted.

Each effort, in its own way, has been about the same thing.

Naming what’s untrue.

Naming what’s harmful.

And replacing it with a story that sets people free.

Why I Do This Work

My name—Angela—literally means “heavenly messenger.”

And my degrees in communication weren’t just academic choices; they were reflections of purpose.

I’m here to interpret.

To reveal.

To translate.

To help people see clearly in a world clouded by noise.

This is the work of my life.

It’s what I’ve always done, even before I had words for it.

When we change the story in our minds, we change the way we show up in the world.  

We change what we believe is possible.

We change who we become.

That is where real freedom lives: in our minds, where we have the right to choose. 

Not out there.

But in here.

In the meaning we make. 

In the truth we decide to live by.

In the values we live by. 

The story we tell becomes the life we lead.

So here is my wish for you, and the rest of humanity: tell a story that sets you free. That helps you become your truest, highest self. Overcome. Rewrite the narrative. And make it yours.