Meet Celeste

Isn’t she stellar exists because everything that led me here isn’t special or unique . . .

It’s experienced every day by so many around the world, largely in silence.

Well, F*ck that. we’re going to talk about it.

"going from burnout to breakdown to building my dream life"

I've spent the last several years talking with womxn all over the world who feel the exact same as I once did...

totally lost in life (even feeling painfully alone)

constantly burnt out trying to keep up, do more, be better…all in the name of it one day “being worth it” (aka, finally “achieving happiness” and “success“)

overwhelmed with everything continuously piled on their plate (aka, the never-ending to-do list)

clueless about what to do, what to change, or what other options are even out there

or worse…too scared of letting go of what they’ve been fighting so hard for (aka, what they once thought they wanted…) to give it up

(Even if there’s PROOF that what they’re doing now IS NOT WORKING. Even if what comes next could be WAY better!)

“If I keep pushing, just a little bit more . . . all of this hard work will finally be worth it!” -every burnt out girlboss everywhere

does that sound familiar...? 🤔

If it does . . . Hey, friend. I know exactly how you’re feeling.

I’ve been there too! I know what it feels like to be horribly stuck, alone, and so out of love with your own life.

To drive yourself to the brink of exhaustion to achieve perfection at the expense of your mental health, all in the name of “SUCCESS.”

But I also know that it doesn’t have to be that way!

I was taught to believe that there is only one way to be successful in life.

Work hard, do well, get promoted, make a decent salary, and live a happy life.

Want more? Hustle, Hustle, Hustle!

I did exactly that. I studied hard and got good grades. I networked and interned around the clock until I eventually graduated with my dream job at a top management consulting firm.

I had ticked off every box, worked really hard, and played by the rules. So I could finally be happy!

Well, unsurprisingly, I wasn’t. Not by a long shot.

In all that time of working so hard I never stopped to ask myself if this was actually what I wanted.

I was so laser-focused on “being successful” that I couldn’t see that success had been defined for me by somebody else.

First in my family to graduate from traditional university! Studying in Washington, D.C. was extremely competitive. We were constantly pitted against the other students at nearby universities, and across the country, for jobs and internships. It was very common for students at my university to work several jobs and internships alongside a full-time course load just so their resume can stand out. Students often wore suits to class more so than sweat pants because we were either coming or going to a networking event, interview, or internship. Yeah, I was majorly burnt out by the time I graduated.

Isn't She Stellar challenges us to redefine what success means and looks like. Together, we support womxn in pursuing THEIR VERSION of success in a healthy, sustainable way.

Convincing myself that I was "doing okay" even though I was severely depressed, having regular panic attacks, struggling with extreme insomnia, malnourished, binge eating, taking my emotions out on others, coping by isolating, and numbing my nervous system from having to deal with any of it by binging Netflix until I finally crashed. Oh, and working 11+ hour days & weekends. No, the money I was making was not worth it. No, I was not okay.

My ✨delusion era✨

The road to this slow-burning epiphany hasn’t exactly been filled with happiness either.

From a young age, I struggled with perfectionism which later turned into serious anxiety and stress management issues that spiraled out of my control. These later on led to major physical and mental health problems.

I wholeheartedly believed that it would all be worth it once I “made it”.

But there I was. I “made it” . . . and happiness could not have felt farther away.

…and I kept going.

Because all of the effort, struggle, and grit had to mean something…had to count for SOMETHING, right??

I kept telling myself, “If I just accomplish this next thing, then I will finally feel happy.“

Enter: mental breakdown

Um, no. That’s not what happened. Instead, my body finally had enough.

All of the years of pushing myself past my limits, deprioritizing my health + needs, placing pride in others seeing how far I was willing to go to get ahead instead of realizing the (very real) consequences of those actions caught up to me. Big time.

I had a mental breakdown. When I walked into the hospital that day, after 2 hours of bawling my eyes out to a complete stranger, my doctor said I was very lucky to have made it there.

I will never forget her warning: “Celeste, if you don’t change how you’re living . . . your life is going to be very short.”

Whew, talk about a reality check 😰🥶

It took putting my life at risk to finally realize that checking all of those f*cking stupid boxes DOES NOT EQUAL HAPPINESS.

Happiness will NEVER lie at the end of yet another checklist.

(And it’s definitely not worth your health . . . or your life.)

Once I realized that I required a complete mindset shift and a complete lifestyle change, everything started to change.

My mental health recovery journey started. I began opening up to others, and realized there were so many other womxn out there, struggling with the exact same thing!

My mental health recovery journey has taken a lot of blood, sweat, years, and tears (quite literally). There are good days, bad days, and horrible days...but I keep evolving into this next, powerful version of myself by allowing my body rest, asking for help, taking small steps, giving myself a lot of patience + grace, and never letting go of my vision of the life I want to build for myself after quitting girlbossing and ditching hustle culture. Quiqué (our corgi) has been the bestest buddy through it all.

While not everyone drives themselves to a mental breakdown, the points along the way that led me to mine are not unique.

Nothing about me or my story is that special.

In fact, I wholeheartedly believe that this is really common. We all experience this—we just don’t talk about it.

So many of us let others define our success, set our expectations, and our limits.

What I’ve found talking with so many other womxn who have related to my story is that:

We’ve all been trapped in the same spiral of societal expectations telling us what success SHOULD look like.

We had no f*cking clue how to shed all the bullsh*t and understand what WE wanted. We became way too f*cking good at ignoring our needs, desires, and pushing them away.

When did we accept that “becoming successful” on other people’s terms mattered more than how our life ACTUALLY FEELS?

That is what our community is all about! Creating a life where success is 100% on YOUR terms, and FEELS GOOD to live!

We all deserve to wake up every morning with that “HELL YES!!!” feeling.

And one thing I wholeheartedly believe is that it’s so much better to do things together among friends.

Change & real growth is not easy when you’re alone. Inside our community, you will always have the safe space + support you need.

Because sometimes life is a 2+ womxn job. 👯‍♀️🤝

i'm building my dream life because I made a choice

The girl I was before, would not believe it if she saw where I am right now.

My life today was just a fantasy in her mind. But here’s the thing:

I made a choice. I said, “f*ck that. I want to experience that now. In this lifetime. In this universe.“

My journey was born from my darkest place—one where I literally had to decide if I wanted to live, and how I would do that differently.

Slowly, painfully, I put the pieces of myself back together, but this time in a way that was totally designed by me.

I did it the hard way, and I’m here to show you everything I learned, without needing to drive yourself to rock bottom. (But, if you’re there, that’s okay too, girlie. I get it. You’ve got a friend here.)

Let’s f*cking do this. Invest in yourself. She who does that is stellar.