Wendy Rae Fiallo

Behind what’s pretty…

This past year brought the biggest health collapse of my life. It wasn’t loud or visible—it was internal, confusing, and lonely.
I slowly stopped going places. I laughed less. I scared more easily. My energy disappeared. My light didn’t go out—it went quiet.

In September, I woke in the middle of the night to a terrifying vestibular episode—vertigo, panic, sweating, nausea, and four hours of feeling completely out of control. ER visits and specialists later, I learned my nervous system was in overload. Anxiety. Trauma. A body that had finally reached its limit.

I started medication after a lot of resistance. I used to equate it with weakness. Now I understand how protective it can be—how sometimes it’s the thing that holds you steady long enough to heal.

Two months later, a moment in the car triggered a PTSD response tied to a trauma I survived years ago. Days after that, shingles appeared—my body’s final way of saying I can’t carry this anymore.

And still… life kept moving.
I kept showing up—running a business holding space for others, parenting pains and joys, supporting my husband, attending recitals, celebrating holidays and birthdays, trying for “that body”, pushing through days I didn’t feel inside my body.

This is one of the most beautiful photos ever taken of me—and it was captured right in the middle of all of this.

The last slides in this carousel show another truth too: the nonstop ADHD swirl in my head. Screenshots of questions, ideas, spirals, lists, curiosity, urgency—a 24-hour glimpse into how busy my mind still is, even while my body is asking for rest.

I’m sharing this because mental health isn’t always obvious. Trauma doesn’t ask permission. And strength doesn’t always look strong. Sometimes it looks like bending a knee. Slowing down. Letting yourself be held by grace instead of pushing past it.

I don’t have answers yet. I’m still learning how to listen to my body without fear.
But if any part of this feels familiar—if you’re quietly carrying more than you let on—you’re not alone. And you’d never have to explain yourself to me, because I already get it. Here’s to 2026, let’s see how much better it can get.

🖤

Hahahaha. Okay I like it. Merry Christmas. 🎄🎁

Spent our Thanksgiving at The Angus Barn… 10/10 loved it! Magical! ✨✨✨✨✨
Thankful for this life, for all of you and for what the future holds. Sending so much love to you and yours!

Teetering on the edge of greatness and hiding. I’ve been no stranger to holding back. I think that’s probably one of the greatest regrets a person could have at the end of their life — knowing they dimmed themselves.

Did you go for it all?
Were you afraid?
Did you step into your calling?
Did you answer the knock when it beat on the door of your soul?

And if not… why?
What held you back?
What reason could possibly be more important than your own growth?

This past year I’ve focused so heavily on mental health and nervous-system calming. I’ve always said I could talk about the things I’ve gone through without feeling them, because it was never the events that held a grip on me. It was the way my body stored the memories… the way my brain rewired itself for protection… the way I lost control of reality in an almost animalistic way just to stay safe.

People talk about the after-effects — the mental looping. They call it anxiety or depression, which are really the same loop in opposite directions: one living in the future, one living in the past. But most people stop there and distract themselves. And I get it — it’s big, it’s overwhelming, and it’s hard to know what to do next. Even if you do understand what’s happening, where do you actually fit the healing in between responsibilities and duty?

So that’s what I’ve been working on: creating enough balance to actually be present with myself… while running a business, being a wife, a mom… and learning the art of observing my thought patterns and body sensations without abandoning myself.

I guess I’m realizing that the past isn’t my fault — but the future is mine to shape.

Anyway, I get these random nudges to share, hoping it reaches someone who needs to hear they’re not alone. Keep going. Be resilient and tireless… even when you’re tired and resistant. 💕

I’m excited for 2026. I’m excited to show up differently. It started with my hair 😂 — and I don’t plan to stop there. Love you all. 🫶
photographer 📸

I don’t think making friends is as easy as it was when we were younger.
The good ones.
The ones you call to rummage through their closet when you don’t want to buy something… or the ones you call to run a comment by after snapping at your husband or boyfriend. The ones who will tell you when you’re wrong. The ones who hold your hair back after you misjudge your limit—or skip the late nights with you because you’re both choosing early-morning yoga instead.

The ones you can walk into without knocking.
The ones who know your life so well that if you were sick, they could walk straight into your home and get your family in order exactly the way you would.

I miss that.
It sits in me like a sore, slow ache—especially as the holidays get closer and I feel that old warmth of closeness with friends and family.

It’s not that it can’t exist.
It’s just that between work, family, and trying to hold everything together, the muscle for being the kind of friend who creates that closeness… it’s weakened. And rebuilding it feels big and hard and uncertain.

So a little while ago, I gathered a group of women who value the same things I do—deep conversation, personal growth, authenticity. I called it Circle Femme and gave each woman a book on feminine energy and connection. We made a vow to meet once a month in whatever way we could, with the intention of building real, rooted relationships. A circle to lean on.

That matters. Now more than ever.
I’ve been moving through so much personal transformation—often alone, and often by choice—that I didn’t even notice how much I missed sisterhood until I finally looked up and felt the absence.

So if you’re reading this… in whatever way you can, and at whatever pace you’re able:
Don’t let your connection muscles atrophy. Don’t let sisterhood fade away.

Reach out.
Let someone in.
Be vulnerable.
Start your own circle or join someone else’s.

Just don’t be lonely on purpose. 🫶🥰

Want to talk about how it took me 13 hours to uninstall and reinstall my dreads? Holy MF. It’s 10/10 because I was learning.
-sectioning
-products
-how tight
-my rhythm
-withstanding arm fatigue
-hand positioning so I could see…

And whatever else. lol But when I took the out, I pulled some apart, sewed in my trinkets and treasures and redistributed the weight in my head for more comfort.
It’s taken me a month to begin to truly feel like myself and embrace such a large shift… but it’s happening and I’m adoring the journey of finding myself and living bolder day by day. ✌🏻 💕
HUGE SHOUTOUT TO .photographer FOR THIS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE PIC OF ME. 🫶 you!

Life lately. ✨
A series of “yes this is awesome” and “wha the f@ck is happening”.
As if post eclipses and mercury being retrograde wasn’t already enough odd energy to make me want to curl up with a good spooky movie and a blanket… there’s been the identity shift with my new hair too.
Man. Let me start by saying- I love my dreads. AND it’s also been a whole vibe to get used to. Not just when I walk by the mirror but in terms of the weight on my head, sleeping, neck adjustments, frizz, grow out, styling, hair care- cause it’s ALL new.
I understand more than I ever have the value of mousse and silk scarves, bonnets, oil, scalp spray, apple cider vinegar, aloe and learning how to workout and sweat all while maintaining all of the above. I am lagging at how much more simple I thought this would be. 😜
I suppose one of my largest fears was that I make anyone feel offended as a result of “cultural appropriation”. So I spent hours learning where they came from, why they are called dreads, the different races and ethnicities that wore them and why, the Rasta religion, the spiritual meaning behind my lineage (Norse Viking) and any info I could get ahold of to learn and understand. Still, nothing prepared me for the panic I felt when my daughter’s sweet black friend asked me “why did you get braids”?. Do I correct her? They are dreads baby. Was I wrong? Do I know less? Should I share my spirituality and what they mean? All this in 5 seconds before I just said “I feel beautiful in them.” Thus- hoping it would somehow stir the possibility for her that more than follow any “should” in life- we follow what lights our hearts on fire. She smiled at me and they went back to playing.
So far- I’ve never felt more like myself but more onstage than I have in making the choice to do something different. That’s been interesting for an extroverted introvert. 🙃
Anyway that’s that. 💕🫶
Happy all-hallows-eve. 🎃🧡
P.S. mmkthanksbye

Happy Fall Y’all! 🧡🍁

Celebrated today in downtown Raleigh NC at the Hispanic Heritage Festival, then went to a giant playground for the girls called Gipson Play Park (HUGE!) and landed at the sweetest shop (with some fun grown drinks) in Tryon called . We tinkered around at their market and took in the beautiful weather before heading home.
What a day. 🍁🧡
🍁

Call it what you want. We are in between two eclipses. You may not know what that means but if you’ve been experiencing a feeling of being raw, on edge or bumbling along lately… welcome.

If you have witnessed or felt sudden life altering moments, things you fear rising up, unearthing of deep feelings, illness, one thing after the next moments or intense energy mixed with incredible exhaustion… hello.

Astrology and the planets sure aren’t religion nor are they something to live and die by. But knowing their influence helps.

If you were on a merry go round with 10 kids going round and round and all of a sudden 7 jumped off, or the grown ups started to slow it down and reverse it- wouldn’t you feel it?

I took this pic as a sweet nudge from the universe/source/God, use your title… when I went to go grab a journal from Barnes and Noble. The first one I’ve purchased since my 20’s. (I am a writer and kept a diary from 5-18!)

Felt like a small kiss on the cheek that amongst the loud and crazy- I was on the right path for myself. 💕

Sep. 6 is a celebration in our house. 🎈Happy Birthday to the greatest man I’ve ever known. You are so loved. May this next year be your very best trip around the sun, yet. ☀️

I’m so glad. There is something super magnetic about the fall approaching. 🍂🍁🌿