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Relationships + Connection

This Joy Report is my 32nd birthday reflections – quality time, gifts that are bigger than what they are, and joy for what’s next.

Joy Report · 32nd Birthday Reflections

Home + Daily Life

The Joy Report text overlaid on a darkened photo of Taylor Nakakihara in a white jumpsuit

Every year, I make my own birthday cake – a little ritual that started from practicality and turned into something deeply meaningful. Here’s why baking your own birthday cake can be such a powerful tradition.

Why I Make My Own Birthday Cake Every Year

Home + Daily Life

Photo of Taylor Nakakihara holding a green heart shaped birthday cake with lit sparklers

Welcome to The Joy Report this week: The Great Plant Rescue of 2025, QT with my friend Jenn, Proposalpalooza, joy being attractive and repellent I rescued all of the plants from a local restaurant that closed for remodeling and left them behind. I went to the closed space with the owner and we discovered that […]

The Joy Report · Week of 9/01/25

Relationships + Connection

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I wanted to stay grounded while dating without losing hope. So I made a dashboard that helps me tell the truth—to myself, first.

My Complete Dating Dashboard in Notion Helps Me Date Smarter

Relationships + Connection

Datign dashboard cover

This year, I broke up with my boyfriend of 9 years and moved out of the house we’d shared for 5. It was both the hardest and best thing I think I’ve done so far in my life, and I’m still processing life after a breakup of a relationship that took up that much space […]

Life After a Breakup: Leaving a 9-Year Relationship

Relationships + Connection

Breakup post cover

I’m just beginning my Soft Girl Era – it’s got nothing to do with finding a partner to do things for me. It’s more about ditching all of the exhausting people-pleasing and self-sabotaging habits that have left me feeling drained and stressed out in pretty much every aspect of my life, up to and including my romantic relationships.

Soft Girl Era (Taylor’s Version)

Relationships + Connection