This is my last article for this column. I’m graduating from William Jewell College in less than two weeks, and from there I’ll be moving on to my studies at seminary. My undergraduate graduation feels very different than my high school one. Hardly any of my high school friends and…
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Self-Exploration: When Home is Not Home
As the semester comes to an end, most conversations are about the summer – “What are your plans?” “Are you going to work?” “Any fun travels planned?” “Aren’t you excited to go home?” Most people can’t wait to see their families and be home. But what happens if you don’t…
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Self-Exploration: My love letter to pursuing seminary
I’ve written an angry version of this article, months ago. I’ve thought a lot about this ongoing conversation I’ve involved myself in between my queerness and my religion. I’ve been angry, I’ve been jubilant with justice, I’ve been anxious. I’ve engaged with so many made-up bigoted people in my head…
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Self-Exploration: How to deal with end of the semester stress
This week, I’m going to begin tackling self-care during exam times. I know everyone with a laptop and/or a brain has opinions on how to keep yourself taken care of during stressful academic events. I also know that, had I thought about doing so, I would’ve either gorged myself on…
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Self-Exploration: Art Within Self-Help Space
How should we tackle art within the context of self-care or self-help or the art we create for ourselves rather than the world? Art – more specifically, written art – within my coursework is frequently alluded to less as a self-edification practice specifically because we are not focused on the creation of…
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Self-Exploration: Generational Anxiety
I’ve gone to the last two William Jewell College CUAt the Movies nights in a row. For me, that’s huge progress. My intrusive thoughts fixate heavily on death, and the occasions wherein people have shot up movie theaters in our country fueled my anxiety. Before getting help, I had panic…
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Self-Exploration: Self-reflection is complicated
Considering this column is about self-exploration, it’s probably ironically perfect that I have no idea how to articulate or offer advice for listening to oneself. Nothing, at least, beyond the obvious. My therapist advises me to wait and see, to let things surface when they surface. However, I get caught…
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Self-Exploration: Conversion fever
One of the things I’ve left by the wayside in my wanderings back into religion is the conversion obsession. Of all the things I’ve left behind from my very religious childhood, this is one that has evolved in particularly interesting ways. I return to religion now with the understanding that…
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Self-Exploration: Scaling my food issues
Since I started at William Jewell College, I’ve obsessed over my weight. Maybe the word obsessed is too strong, maybe it isn’t strong enough. I’m not certain, though I think it is important to examine this. Compared with other people, regardless of gender, I think we are all too aware…
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