It’s been a little while since I last wrote. There’s plenty to blame that on, I suppose. A building full of students finding their stories. A graduate thesis to bring to life. Plenty of snowfall and polar vortices. A return to the runner lifestyle. Making the most of my final semester of graduate school. And, in the cracks of time in between, a job search.

It’s strange to think I will soon find myself embarking on a new adventure. It seems only a handful of days ago that I made my way to Charleston, Illinois, driving cautiously and curiously onto a new campus. Graduate school has been challenging, beautiful, and fast, but that’s for another blog entry. This one, I think, is focused on the next step.

Continue reading “here i come.” →

This past weekend, the Louis V. Hencken chapter of NRHH held its Spring Leadership Conference. During the third program session on Saturday, I facilitated a program called “Find Your Voice, Write Your Story.” Inspired by notions already discussed in this young weblog, the presentation essentially revolved around the idea that a leader must know her or his voice before writing a story. Baxter-Magolda’s Theory of Self-Authorship provided the framework, and I used the “i am” activity from the previous post. Something, however, seemed to be missing. The morning of the conference, in a moment of inspiration, I decided to include an influential piece of my story (and influence on my voice): my weight journey. The following slide helped illustrate that moment:

When the time came to share the story, I found myself feeling the side effects of vulnerability — clammy hands, shaky voice, pumping heart — but I pressed onward and shared as bravely as I could. Afterwards, after revealing the photo on the right of the slide, the students in the room applauded my progress. In the moments that followed, the students in the room opened their hearts with tremendous courage and shared pieces of their story that greatly impacted the message of the presentation. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my graduate journey to date.

Today, during some reflection on the program, I decided to share that slide of the presentation. The response has been tremendously kind and supportive, reminding me to be grateful that I was ever able to take this step. As such, I am yet again setting out to write and share this piece of my story. I hope that I can do it justice.

Continue reading “a piece of my story.” →

This semester, I am taking a course called “Campus Environments.” Designed to help us examine college campuses more closely, the course began with a simple journal writing activity: Write about your first time stepping onto your undergraduate campus. What did you notice? What was that experience? Thinking back to Ball State, I opened the journal and stepped into a memory.

Continue reading “first steps.” →

It happened like this: Break came to a close. I moved through my house, scooping my things from their random whereabouts: iPhone charger by the kitchen table, Wii U in the basement, best hoodie in the laundry room. Skated out to my car, loaded everything up. Took a victory lap or two of the house. Said goodbye for a bit. Slow-going, snowy drive under a dark sky. Pulled back into Charleston, parked my car with flashers in the Lawson drive so as to unload, then stopped by McDonald’s for a Diet Coke before settling back in. Netflix, laundry, sentimental apartment times. Bed.

Continue reading “in comes the snow.” →

If I were to boil my fall semester down to a single word, that word would be “rigorous.” The opening of a residence hall, the building of that community, the formation of individual hall staff members into a group. 120 hours of internship. A thesis to hit the ground running on. A group of talented and ambitious student leaders to support and challenge. It was a beautiful blur, yes, and it left me feeling exhausted. Wiped. When I arrived home at Mom and Dad’s for winter break, I needed to simply pause for a bit.

It’s been about three weeks, somehow. As I sit at this computer, I face the familiar feeling of wonder. How is it possible that I am about to embark on another semester-long journey? Thanks to this winter break, however, I know that I am ready.

Continue reading “winter broken.” →

The purpose of this blog is to look forward, but it’s not in my character to do so without looking back. A lot can happen within the time frame of a year. There are victories and setbacks, significant moments and fuzzy stretches, wild adventures and small joys. The idea of reducing a year into a single, digestible entity is most likely implausible. But, were I to do so, were I to shrink 2013 into a chunk of significance, I think I’d call it my “find-your-voice” year.

Continue reading “the “find-your-voice” year | shrinking 2013.” →