The best way to find clarity

(Spoiler: it doesn't involve planning)

At the beginning of the school year, my students often stall when trying to write an essay. They can’t immediately figure out how to say the thing perfectly, so they stare at the blank page, waiting for the words to materialize exactly so in their minds so that they can get it right. This is a big concern of highly motivated AP students — getting it right. The thing about writing, though (whether you’re learning how to write literary analysis as a high school junior or trying your hand at personal essays 🙋🏻‍♀️), is that usually, ideas come to us as we write. The thing starts to take shape, that elusive idea you were grasping at presents itself more clearly, and in the case of my students, you finally (mostly) understand that poem you’re trying to analyze after you’re about a paragraph into your essay.

As much as we’d all like to figure it all out before we start, muddling our way through provides a kind of clarity that we cannot replicate with even the most thorough forward planning. This is why starting before you are ready is the best advice. We learn through doing.

I’ve managed to publish ten weeks in a row, and for that I’m quite proud. Not every post has been brilliant, and not a single essay has been as polished as I wanted it to be, but nevertheless, I’ve persisted. The reason this is so impressive to me is not because this is some daring feat, but because I rarely make time to do things for myself these days. Starting this Substack and showing up every week has been a gentle reminder that I can prioritize myself, even in a season of life when I need to give so much of myself away.

This week’s essay brought to you by hi-chews, my new favorite candy.

This week, I’ve been mulling over my core message—my ethos behind cobbling together time each week to slow down and share, to document my very common experiences as a Midwest mom and teacher. I tried to articulate this message on both my “about” page and welcome newsletter, but lately I’ve felt that it’s needed a bit of an update, a zhuzh. Here is that update:

I have always loved Thursdays. Yes, the weekend is cute and all, with the adventures and bustle, the plans and excitement. We need the weekend. But Thursday? Thursday is at once what was, but also what could be. It is relief, contemplation, and possibility. In the words of the greatest poet of my generation, Taylor Swift, Thursday is about “the hope of it all.” 

On Thursdays, I reflect, revise, and take stock. I muse and plan. I write lists (and man, I love a good list). The Thursday List is a collection of these Thursday thoughts about the topics I love most. Here, through the lens of my very everyday experiences, I plan to capture this spirit of reflection, organization, and hope and share it with you, along with ways to cultivate small shifts in perspective or habit to bring more structure, comfort, and peace to your everyday.

There, that’s better. There’s my focus. It took about ten weeks, but I wrote my way into it. 🙂

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My view while writing this tonight.

If you’ve been following along since I’ve started this commitment to writing weekly, I’m greatly appreciative. I would still share into the void, but it’s nice to know there are a few friendly faces in that void. For those of you who like a plan (me), you can expect the following posts each month:

1. A suggested habit shift and/or a practical “how-to” (how to be intentional about a home color palette)

2. A suggested perspective shift (on the merits of still making dinner at 8pm)

3. A short, easily-digestible version of 1 or 2 (what it says about me that I always fold fitted sheets)

4. A round up of favorite things over the last thirty days to close each month (My linkletter)

This means next is linkletter week. See you then!