Respect the Curve
On Lincoln Drive in Philadelphia, my mother taught me how to take a curve. This fall, I’m learning to take one in my own life.
I grew up in Philadelphia, and if you know Philly, you know Lincoln Drive.
It’s a winding two-lane stretch that runs from Mount Airy into Center City, cutting along Wissahickon Park. Locals call it deadly. My mother had one piece of advice when she was teaching me to drive:
Respect the drive.
On Lincoln, you don’t fight the curve. You lean into it. You decelerate before it, grip steady through it, and then accelerate out once you see the road again. When it rains, when the leaves drop in fall, that’s when people forget. That’s when cars end up against the rocks.
I’ll never forget driving to a physics exam during my post-bac days and seeing headlights swerve wrong on Lincoln. In that instant, I understood my mother’s warning: the curve will humble you if you don’t respect it.
🍁 Pivot Season
This fall feels like that curve. People talk about autumn as cozy. It’s all pumpkins, blankets, and lattes. But I don’t see fall as cozy. I see it as critical. It’s when you need discipline, clarity, and respect for what lies ahead.
I’m in a pivot season. Not the first, not the last. I’ve pivoted from law to dentistry, from operator to owner, from clinical to brand founder. Each time, it wasn’t a detour. It was a curve I had already drawn for myself. And once I recognized it, I had to respect it.
Marcel Dinkins, one of my favorite Peloton instructors, says: “I am strongest in my pivot.”
That line stays with me. Because once I know where I’m going, I can employ my full arsenal to get there — the education, the grit, the storytelling, the design eye, the discipline dentistry drilled into me.
🌀 Respecting the Pivot
People fear pivots because they confuse them with chaos. But pivots are not chaos. They are curves in the road. They require trust in your own skill set, trust in the path you’ve chosen, and trust that once you accelerate out, you’ll be on firmer ground than before.
Dentistry taught me precision. Motherhood taught me endurance. Brand building taught me audacity. And every curve I’ve faced — whether it was Wissahickon’s slick roads or the decision to leave a practice behind — has proven that I’m strongest not when the road is straight, but when it bends.
🌸 The Road Ahead
This fall, I’m leaning into the curve. I’m respecting the pivot. And I’m accelerating out of it with Bright Whites. And it’s not just a toothpaste brand, but a reimagining of what oral wellness can be.
Because life isn’t a straightaway. It’s Lincoln Drive in November, leaves slick on the pavement, headlights ahead. The question isn’t whether you’ll face the curve. The question is whether you’ll respect it and find your strength in it.
👉Respect the curve. Redefine your smile. Explore the new flavor lineup at drbrigittewhite.com.
P.S. Bright Whites is still founder-made, packed by hand, shipped by me. Your support means more thank you know. Thank you for being here at the start of this curve♥️
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