About

Who is Sara?

The question “who are you?” can be a big one to try and answer on an About page, especially for a journal writer! Instead of the boring rundown that could turn into a resume on steroids, here are some things you might want to know about me:

I started keeping a journal when I was eleven years old. My first entry contemplates the cycle of life and death.

The journals I kept as a teenager are the ones that I refer to least often now. Not because I didn’t enjoy that part of my life, but because the entries are repetitive, the same thing over and over. It’s likely a brain development thing, right?

I went to Florida State for both undergrad (early childhood education) and grad school (instructional design). The last FSU football game I went to was in 2003, vs. Miami. It was pouring down rain almost the whole game and I learned that sometimes its far easier to just get rained on and have fun than it is to struggle to stay dry.

My idea of a perfect day is one that includes writing, reading, a healthy dose of sunshine, coffee, and chocolate.

Writing instructions is easy for me. Writing from the heart is a work in progress. Must be that instructional design degree.

At age 25 I bought my dream car: a soft-top Jeep Wrangler. At age 31 I sold it to make way for baby. My daughter has seen a photo of me in my old Jeep and says the next one I get should be pink with purple swirls and maybe a couple of polka-dots. She might be onto something.

I have two kids, Ayla and Jude. They are pretty stinkin’ fantastic.

I have a husband too, Brian, and the kids are fantastic because he is their Dad.

My pet peeve: Wasted food.

My latest obsession: Scrivener.

Born in Vermont, moved to Tallahassee, left a couple times, came back a couple of times, and will likely leave again.

I have a recipe for perfect brownies, given to me by one of my oldest friends.

Three things I choose not to live without: my family, teaching, and my journal.

Screened in porches are an ideal space to journal. The bugs are at a minimum, you can hear, smell, and see the outdoors, and you are steps away from a new pen, a fresh beverage, or a potty break.

I sincerely believe exercise is the ultimate way to get ideas and find solutions to challenges. Movement is essential to the brain clearing away the cobwebs and turning on the lightbulb.

On the 25th of every month I mentally, and sometimes verbally, note the number of months between now and Christmas.

One of my favorite parts of this experience called life is the realm of possibility in which we live and the stream of ideas that seems to always be flowing.

I trained to become a life coach in 2006. When I work with clients I feel energized and excited – not only for what I know they can accomplish, but from the look on their face when they start to realize what they can accomplish.

I have the option to let life happen to me, or make life happen for me. Everyone else has the same option.

At some point I realized that when I was keeping a journal, I was writing about past, present, and future. The cycle became clear: Write, Live, Repeat. I was writing and living my own life story. Sometimes making my life happen and creating a life story is wrought with sadness, grief, and downright scary decisions that test my limits. But the question to always come back and ask myself is this: If I’m writing my own life story, don’t I want that story to kick-ass? From that question springs the courage I need to move ahead. And moving forward is what turns sadness, grief, and scary decisions into joy, experiences of love, lessons learned, and outcomes that are unpredictable before we start to move.

Want to know more? You can read about the journals, books, and services I offer on this website. And don’t forget to download my free gift for you in the sidebar of this web page – it’s a little inspiration to get your pen moving.

If you see something you want to know more about, click here to send me an email and lets get a conversation going.

Until then, here’s to your joyful journaling!