Once Upon a Poetry Class, 2022

Where do I even begin? 2022 was transformative, to say the least---a whirlwind of a year that truly flew by in the blink of an eye. I spent 2 incredible months living and working in London, took a life-changing course, ran a course on AI and the brain, experienced the power of prayer...and so much…

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thankful for home

I haven't written in awhile, primarily because a lot has happened in my personal life this past year and I've barely found time to even process it all myself. Being an internal processor also means that it's often hard for me to find the right kinds of words to express the complexities of what I…

In 2021, color filled my world again

For the past three years, I have written yearly reflection posts summarizing lessons learned and emotions experienced in the past 365 days. Last year in particular was extraordinarily difficult (as we can probably all agree with), and really forced me to rethink my priorities and purpose. And this year, even as restaurants started opening up…

Three.

Thoughts and reflections on Year Three in Boston. Some high & low-lights include: pandemic sadness, PhD progress, burning out, moving, and falling in love.

Seeing 20/20

My reflections on 2020 in the form of a prayer-lament. "Those who know me know that I enjoy writing and sharing year-end reflections on the Eve of a new year. But this year in particular, it’s been hard to find the right words...Though in many ways I am still grieving 2020 (perhaps you are, too), I wish you a Happy New Year and eagerly await our vaccinated embrace. Joy shall come."

Two.

Thoughts and reflections on Year Two in Boston.

"Today marks two years in Boston, and the end of my 2nd year in grad school. After a tumultuous Year One, I thought I was set for a somewhat more “stable” feeling year Two. But Two felt...lost. A loss of direction, voice, and health. I struggled to find the right research questions, and questioned whether I was cut out for the academic life."

Growing Pains, 2019

On therapy, growing pains, and the lessons learned in 2019.

"And so in 2019, I learned to feel again. I explored and expressed joy, sadness, surprise, rage, anticipation, shame, love, betrayal, serenity. I not only found that others' emotions were worth my time, but that my emotions were also worth my time. For the first time in years, I cried in front of my father and explained why I was talking to a complete stranger about my emotions. I allowed myself to grieve my mother's cancer and the pain of her radiation treatments, even though it triggered agonizing memories of my own hospitalizations."

A Letter from the Past

Upon receiving a letter from my 16-year-old self, I wrote my younger self a dutiful reply...

"11th grade, College Park High School. One ordinary day in AP Calculus, Ms. Merritt tasked us with outlining our "5-10-15-20 year" plans and prompted us to ask our future selves if we had accomplished everything we had set out to do as starry-eyed sixteen-year-olds. She promised to send these letters back to us four years from the date we wrote them."

A Short Personal Reminder

Reminders in the midst of a hard and painful season.

Happy Anniversary, Boston!

Thoughts and reflections on Year One in Boston.

"Exactly a year ago, I took a one-way flight to my new home. I wrote this in my journal on the plane ride:

It just hit me
It’s hitting me
It’s all going to be new from now on

...and it was."