I'm Steven Walden. I’m an artist, a writer, a former therapist, and a collector of moments that don’t let go. This Medium page collects some essays, some long social media posts that I wanted to give a home outside of algorithms.

Most of what I create, whether it’s on canvas or the page, is rooted in memory, longing, and the quiet ache of what it means to care. I’m drawn to the spaces where vulnerability and strength overlap: the grief no one talks about, the love we give after letting go, the humor we use to keep ourselves upright.

My work often circles around the same questions: What does it mean to be good when no one’s watching? What parts of ourselves are worth preserving? And who do we become when we choose kindness anyway?

I don’t believe in perfection. I believe in effort. I believe in making meaning even when it’s messy. And I believe that truth, especially the hard kind, deserves to be spoken without flinching.

Sometimes that truth looks like a painting. Sometimes it looks like a childhood memory of Superman, or a eulogy for a complicated friend, or a Valentine’s Day act of grace from a fast food parking lot. Sometimes it’s just a sentence I needed to say out loud.

This is where I try to tell the truth. Even when it’s hard. Especially then.