Sophia San Filippo

Managing Editor & SEO Lead

Based in New York City, Sophia San Filippo has worked with Love What Matters as a lead editor and content curator since early 2019 and has acted as Managing Editor since early 2021. She is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Binghamton University who holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, Creative Writing, and Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. She is passionate about personal storytelling and creating a positive space in media to better the lives of others. On a typical day you can find her rocking out at her local concert venue, admiring nature, or baking her latest kitchen experiment.

‘Uh, where’s the wine?’ I ask for club soda. Blank looks. ‘Wine. Immediately!’ They don’t know I’m newly sober.’: Woman gives up alcohol and dissects female drinking culture, ‘it shattered me’

“‘Thank God there’s places like this where we can have lady time,’ a woman in a yellow dress says. ‘I’ll be hungover by dinner,’ says another. When did women drinking become self-care? Another group sips champagne through straws. ‘Girl time! We’ve earned this!’ Driving home, I pass billboard ads for Cinnamon Churros Smirnoff. I learn my yoga studio is now practicing monthly wine events. I feel sick.”

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‘Oh my god, did you see Elena’s ears?! I mean, it’s basically child abuse.’ I left the party uncomfortable.’: Woman defends cultural parenting differences, ‘a mother knows what is best for her child’

“When Elena was 5 months old, my friend Nia brought her to a baby shower. My eyes fell on her cute little ears, pierced with diamond studs! As soon as the door closed behind her, all the girls dived right in. ‘Who does that to a little baby?’ ‘What’s next, a tattoo or something?’ ‘Shouldn’t that be Elena’s decision when she’s older?’ Honestly, I didn’t know what to think. Nia was the only person of color at the party.”

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‘Mom, dad. I’d like you to meet my boyfriend…and my girlfriend.’ ‘WHAT?’ It took some getting used to.’: Polyamorous woman admits to ‘unconventional’ lifestyle, ‘We are happy and that’s what matters’

“Ryan had a confession to make. ‘What could it be?’ I felt a pang in my heart. ‘I have a thing for Rachel. She doesn’t know.’ Once the shock wore off, I had a confession of my own: ‘Me too.’ The rest was history. I know it’s unconventional, but my love is boundless. Why put a fence around it? I’d rather be happy in a throuple, than unhappy in a couple.”

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‘How are you?’ a friend emailed. It’s 2 weeks old. I’m parenting young kids, and I suck at being a friend.’: New mom acknowledges parenting has hurt her relationships, ‘this stage doesn’t last forever’

“I stare at a picture of smiling faces. We look happy, relaxed. ‘Remember this day? So much fun!’ she wrote. We were connected then. An unbreakable bond of friendship. Now, we only talk every few months in emails like this, often forgotten by me. I feel guilt wash over me. I’m knee-deep in parenting. I’ve changed.”

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‘We need to talk. Your baby’s head is BIG. His fingers look like a starfish.’ WHAT? He passed the Kleenex. I lost it.’: Mom births son with Dwarfism, ‘He was made special on purpose’

“I thought he was joking. ‘Ohhhhh, I was hoping to walk in and see that you two were just very short. Have you ever seen the little people shows on TV?’ What the heck? He was convinced our son was a dwarf. He double checked measurements. He was actually serious! ‘What will our friends think?!’ I couldn’t breathe.”

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‘We don’t go to church.’ I get shocked looks, promises of prayer. ‘How will your daughter know right from wrong?!’: Agnostic mom ‘unapologetically’ raising daughter without religion

“I started questioning religion in my adolescence. My parents didn’t think I knew what I REALLY felt. I was just a ‘hormonal teenager.’ Now, I’m a 35-year-old agnostic. I am unapologetically raising my daughter without religion. And boy, you’d be surprised how many people have a serious problem with that.”

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‘What are the chances lightning strikes twice?’ Then I got the news. ‘Ashley…I have cancer, too.’: Twins battle breast cancer simultaneously, ‘we found strength in each other’

“The day after my biopsy, I received a phone call. ‘Wow, the results came fast. Must be good news!’ The nurse put the doctor on. ‘Hi, Danielle. I want you to know we found cancer…’ Suddenly, all of the air was sucked out of my body. I called my sister. ‘Man, you cursed me. I have it.’ I could hear my mom in the background saying, ‘Are you EFFING kidding me?!’ We were battling this together.”

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‘She’s lying. NOTHING is wrong. She just wants narcotics!’ My mom was in the throes of kidney failure.’: Woman ‘shocked’ by hospital malpractice, urges ‘it is your right to request a new doctor’

“My mother is a strong woman who NEVER complains about pain. Yet, there she was, writhing. Our doctor pulled up her records and angrily listed off her history of meds out loud. ‘Why did you take these?!’ He interrogated her. He wouldn’t give her an IV drip or her blood pressure meds. Her body was never physically checked. Instead, he tried to ‘out’ her as a drug abuser in front of her family!”

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‘Where is my wife?’ An old man turned a corner and put his hands on my shoulder, tears in his eyes.’: Woman comforts distraught stranger with Alzheimer’s, ‘Kindness costs nothing’

“I jumped up. My first instinct was to get angry and ask him to please not touch me. Then I noticed something. The man was crying. ‘Do you know where my wife is? I’ve been looking for her.’ He was now shaking and crying softly. I was thinking maybe he lost her in the aisles. Hasn’t everyone lost someone this way? I was wrong.”

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