What if. Two words that carry a lot of weight. What if I take this new job – with the big title and the bigger responsibilities – and I fail? What if I fully devote myself to writing and creativity and people don’t want to hear the stories I have to tell? What if I,…
Adventure Awaits
How is it possible that leaving the place I live makes me feel more at home? The movement of travel stirs up a mixture of emotions – excitement, anticipation, wonder…and a pinch of anxiety. This cocktail is best sipped when a ticket has been purchased and the promise of adventure awaits. Somehow, even with all…
Dreams Deferred
I want to live in Europe. Western Europe. Okay, London, to be exact, but let it be known I’d also not turn down Spain, Ireland, Belgium and really anywhere else in the U.K. Writing those words feels vulnerable. In fact, I’ve been trying to avoid doing so. There’s something about writing down this aspiration that…
The Gift of Time
I found myself sitting in a restaurant with a spinach and goat cheese salad and an unexpected hour lying ahead of me. It was noon during a particularly busy few months at work and I’d normally be eating at my desk, one hand mindlessly shoveling the contents of my packed lunch into my mouth while…
The Year of Walls and a Roof
I love beginnings. The blank page, the clean slate, the plans not yet laid – the anticipation of new. But in order to have a fresh beginning there must be an ending. At the end of December I began to take stock of 2018, and initially felt like it was a failure. In January I’d written…
“For When I Leave WS”
What would you do if money wasn’t an object? If judgement didn’t exist? If the perfect opportunity presented itself? What dreams would you pursue? What fears would you break free of? What risks would you take? I wrote the piece below before my current job became a reality, leaving room for certain details to be…
The Promise Keeper
Waiting for anything is difficult – the bus, your takeout order, that friend who’s always late. It can truly test your patience. I’ve never been someone who’s especially good at waiting {particularly when I’m hungry} so I get it. But waiting for something you really want, something your heart and soul is longing for, something…
Happy Three Years, Chicago
I’m a pretty sentimental person. If there’s a major milestone, I think it needs marking. Well, I’m ashamed to say, I missed my Chicagoversary this year. Three years ago on a warm July day I packed up and moved from my hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas to the big city. As if watching my dad navigate…
To the Fiercely Independent Woman
Having hip surgery taught me a lot about myself. It’s been almost two years since the doctor gave the diagnosis I was both eagerly and anxiously awaiting. That process was a pretty significant juncture in my life and, in some ways, the self awareness it created is still bubbling to the surface – some of…
Full & Fearless 