Had an absolutely amazing staycation! I read five books, worked on plotting and brainstorming for three different stories, did a lot of planning and dreaming for 2023, and saw my sweet family yesterday. It’s so nice to have SPACE to really, really think– about stories, life, writing, goals, faithfulness and humility over “success,” what I want my routines to look like at age 41. My birthday is January 17th, and somehow 41 feels different. Not bad or old, just different. In so many ways, I know myself so very well. I’d give myself an A in Self Awareness and Goal Setting. I deserve some sort of ..read more

Four years later, he pops up on my phone. It was good to finally say all the things I never got to say. So, so, so good. JACKIE LEA SOMMERS I spell complicated with the letters of your name. You draw a line that separates Ready and Potential, and then pitch a tent on that thin stripe. We push and pull, but two equally stubborn wills result in a stalemate. I am a siren, and I live for the days you wash up on this shore. View original post ..read more

Two UNW Alums Discuss OCD by Megan Liesmaki (Theatre & Psychology ‘20) & Jackie Sommers (English—Writing ‘03) Media has reinforced stereotypes that OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) is all about being clean. But we need the Northwestern community to know OCD is actually all about uncertainty—and the inability to tolerate it. It’s often called the “doubting disease.” OCD starts with an intrusive thought which causes tremendous, often unbearable anxiety. The sufferer then performs some sort of ritual or action to alleviate the anxiety. For example, the person with intrusive thoughts ..read more

I’ve written five days in a row. Let me tell you how. Sitting down at my computer was stressing me out. Reserving hours of writing time was stressing me out. My body couldn’t handle the stress, sitting at the computer, or the long hours. So I took a blank journal, separated it into eight sections and every night I pick one or two areas and write about those things. It’s been less stressful. In fact, I’ve found myself looking forward to it each evening. It’s slower to write by hand (and I usually hate that), but it’s what this season requires of me. Had a great conversation today with dear @br ..read more

I was today years old when I learned the StrengthsFinders strengths fell into categories. Four of mine (Learner, Ideation, Input, Strategic) fall under strategic thinking and the other one (Achiever) falls under executing. This means NONE of my top strengths are in relationship building or influencing. I’m having a bit of an identity crisis ..read more

Rhnull is the rarest blood on earth.  With only 43 people in history having such blood— and only nine active donors— every drop is so precious that doctors call it “golden blood.” For someone with this blood type in crisis, it becomes a global race against the clock. First, there are limits to how often those with rare blood can donate. Some countries pay donors, but many don’t— which means that donors often have to pay their own way to break through the red-tape of blood crossing borders. And of course, these donations have a shelf-life: frozen blood lasts 48 hours; fresh blood lasts 4-6 ..read more

I’ve been drowning in panic all week. Yes, it’s a big, busy, important week (new students move onto campus), but it’s also exciting and rewarding and I STILL FEEL LIKE I’M DROWNING. Then I scratched my eye, so everything feels foggy, and all I do is sleep. On Monday, I slept like 4 hours plus all night. Yesterday, 3-hour nap, then all night. Then all day today. This weird panic + the heat is just blazing through my spoons like they are matchsticks. I feel poor, out of control, and I cannot source this panic. Okay, dear Body, I am listening. What do you need to feel safe? I can see my pillow, t ..read more

Bread, Moon, & Gravity Early astronomers, mistaking the basaltic plains of the Moon for water, named them maria, Latin for seas. There’s Mare Crisium, Sea of Crises; Mare Ingenii, Sea of Cleverness; and Mare Cogitum, profoundly, the Sea that has Become Known. There are also lunar “lakes”—Lake of Summer, Lake of Autumn, but also Lakes of Sorrow, of Softness, of Forgetfulness—not to mention Bay of Roughness and Marsh of Epidemics and Lands of Manna.  Manna on the Moon. Like an island wafer amidst these raging seas.  Bread of heaven indeed.  * Turns out, whole grains are a tho ..read more

Usually, as vacation winds down to its end, I find myself agitated and antsy, let down because I didn’t accomplish X, Y, or Z (to be clear, my vacations always have a long list of goals!!). But today was great. I felt accomplished. I felt satisfied. I felt eager. I’m objectively smart, and yet sometimes the most obvious things hit me like choruses from angels. Today’s lesson/reminder was twofold: 1) You don’t have to keep doing things the same way if it’s not working anymore. So simple, yet sooooo freeing. I have all the permission in the world to try out new systems. Why was this so stun ..read more

Girls full of courage, lots of em-dashes YA romances and wispy fake lashes Lions and wardrobes and horses with wings These are a few of my favorite things https://www.instagram.com/p/CMhsCoQHDgt/?utm_medium=share_sheet ..read more