On Life: What You Learn Before And After College

On Life: What You Learn Before and After College

On August 1, 2022, I was issued an official diploma: a Bachelor of Arts, English from American Public University System. Whoop!!! After 6 years of essays and forums, PowerPoint presentations and tests, I was finally a college graduate. There were meltdowns, sleepless nights, rushing home from work to complete assignments, and questioning if I even needed a degree in the first place. College,…

View On WordPress

On Life: When Life Keeps Moving

Today, I am moving into the fourth house I have ever lived in. For a long time me and my family were looking for the place where we could put down roots and have the space and time to finally recover from some of our crazier moments, from some of the generational ticks and fears we picked up from being poor in rural places. Sometimes, we didn’t have the gas to get to where we needed to go.…

View On WordPress

On Books: Happy Birthday, Harry Potter

Happy 43rd birthday to The Boy Who Lived! Every July 31st I find something Harry Potter centric to do. Drink Butterbeer from my local bookstore. Rewatch a Harry Potter film. Reread the books. Read some fanfiction, look at all the cool fanart and aesthetics online. Wear my favorite Harry Potter t-shirts and jewelry. I spend the day immersed in the Wizarding World. I’m not alone. A quick Google…

View On WordPress

It had almost escaped my notice that it is now May, the month that dooms to a heartbroken death 99% of characters from folk ballads. So, if you suspect you may be a character from a folk ballad, for your own safety: 

don’t fall in love, don’t go by the river, don’t go to the sea, don’t talk to sailors, don’t gamble, don’t ramble, don’t go North, don’t go North-West, don’t stand in the wind, don’t dance with anyone named Sally, Sue, Mary, Ann, or Barbara, don’t go to the pub (but if you do go to the pub at least don’t drink, and if you do drink at least pay for your own drink, and if you are absolutely broke and have to let someone else pay for your drink then at the very least do try not to forget to toast everyone you know whom you think might be there very loudly and possibly multiple times), don’t lend money, don’t borrow money, don’t wish you had more money, don’t make plans to make more money, don’t start working for a new employer, absolutely do believe anyone who says they will try to kill you, curse you, or maim you, absolutely do believe anyone who says you might die, turn down every invitation to go a-hunting, horse-riding, or a-courting, be wary of flute players you meet on your path, don’t dance with satanic men in black coats, don’t marry off your daughters to the first man who’ll have them, and don’t promise your true love any herbs you can’t readily plant and gather in your own garden. 

There. That should just about cover you for 31 days. Heed the warnings and you may have a chance to last the month. Good luck.

The Heroine Sets Off

The Heroine Sets Off

This isn’t the beginning, but it’s the best place to start. Heroine, age 27, realizes that a life in literature is more fun than a life in retail and embarks on the daunting task of making her dreams come true. The challenge: 40+ hours at the 9 to 5. The rest of the day spent spinning dreams into words and helping others make sense of their own. I am that heroine. I am Currer Jean. This blog…

View On WordPress

Dancing Around the Point...Again

Dancing Around the Point…Again

Ever since I started my blog, I’ve harbored this feeling in the back of my mind that said, “well, this isn’t quite right.” I’m so familiar with this thought haunting my writing that I didn’t give it much credence. Imposter Syndrome. Self-doubt. The echo of past criticisms that reverberate even though all context is lost to time. This time the voice felt different. This persistent nagging held…

View On WordPress