Katrina Hicks

An Interview With Pianist Melissa Harrison

Katrina Hicks interviews freelance pianist and composer Melissa Harrison. Melissa effortlessly demonstrates that classic is still cool while covering modern mainstream hits. Melissa Harrison’s most recent work includes her composition on the soundtrack for the film NKD written for Looking For Beauty films and produced by Troy Sevens. Melissa sits down to speak with me ...

Katrina Hicks

Melissa Harrison.

How Has the Pandemic Changed Us 2 Years On?

I have been reading a book recently, which keeps me up with a resolution for the New Year — reading more often. A part of the tale centers around a plague. Historic plagues have been taught and spoken about, yet never did I believe we’d experience a pandemic in my lifetime. Then, along came the ...

Katrina Hicks

Young woman looking sad through a window.

Childhood Anxiety During the Pandemic

In September 2021, UK’s National Health Service (NHS) reported that 1 in 6 children had a mental health disorder. Although the figures were similar in 2020, it also said that cases of childhood anxiety had risen significantly over the past few years. Adults and children alike have felt adverse effects in their own lives since ...

Katrina Hicks

Child wearing a mask looking out of a window.

Is Having an Imaginary Friend Normal for Children?

Growing up, do you ever recall having an “imaginary friend?” A best friend even, who was completely real to you, and only you?  I can’t say that I ever did. I would hear the term often, and yes, I may have pretended within the realms of my own vast imagination that I was friends with ...

Katrina Hicks

Girl whispers in teddy bear's ear.

Have You Ever Experienced Lucid Dreaming?

A lucid dream is described as a type of dream where the individual dreaming is, in fact, aware that they’re asleep in their physical form yet still awake mentally. It has been said that individuals can even control the narrative of their dreams while in this state of dreaming.  I find the concept of lucid ...

Katrina Hicks

A door opens into an outdoor landscape with the moon shining over water.

Is Working Remotely Here to Stay?

Remote working, which is also referred to as “working from home,” is a work arrangement where employees do not commute to a central place of work.  It is estimated that approximately 4.7 million people were working remotely before the COVID-19 pandemic. But a global survey conducted by Gartner Inc. found that 88 percent of business ...

Katrina Hicks

A young woman working from home.

How to Cope With Financial Stress

According to Verywell Mind: “Financial stress is emotional tension that is specifically related to money.” Financial stress can happen to anyone but is more often found in low-income households. Financial stress can trigger anxiety and depression and cause friction amongst loved ones.  Financial stress can also cause physical symptoms like insomnia, headaches, and fatigue.  Some signs that ...

Katrina Hicks

Woman sitting on the floor surronded by bills and a calculator, sitting with her dog.

Are You Aware of Hoarding Disorder?

Hoarding is seen as a psychological condition where a person holds onto and stores an excessive number of items, usually in a chaotic manner that results in enormous amounts of clutter — cases of hoarding range from mild to severe.  While clutter could be seen as messy living or general untidiness, hoarding is more serious.   ...

Katrina Hicks

Kitchen counter and sink piled up with appliances, utensils, and dirty dishes with no counter space left free.

How Will You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions in 2022?

A resolution is a formal decision to do or not do something. Many people follow the tradition at the beginning of making New Year’s resolutions with which they resolve to continue good practices, change undesired traits or behaviors, accomplish personal goals, or make other improvements to their lives or environment.  Resolutions are many and varied. Some people plan to change a bad habit , such ...

Katrina Hicks

Notepad with list for New Year's resolutions sits on a desk with a cup of coffee, a blue alarm clock, colorful rubberbands, and various colored markers.

An Inspiring Interview With Federica Pannocchia

Katrina Hicks interviewed Italian-born educator, writer, and scriptwriter Federica Pannocchia. Also known as “FEDE,” Federica provides the children of today, and the young adults of the next generation, with platforms to better their own perspectives and morals in life. Federica does so through running workshops, exhibitions, and meetings with Holocaust Survivors. Federica is the Executive Director for ...

Katrina Hicks

Federica Pannocchia.