Many Journals Later …

On a freezing cold morning, sitting on my windowsill in our Soviet-style apartment building in the tiny country of Moldova, I pulled out a journal. It had a pink polka dot cover and green paper. I started writing about what I saw looking out my window — the stray dogs, the people that I thought looked funny, the snow that kept coming down. I wrote about how I was feeling about moving to this “strange” country where I lived with my family for two and a half years. I furiously jotted down all of my frustrations of losing my friends, learning a weird language, and my annoying little sister (who now, many years later, happens to be my best friend).

For the first time since I stepped on that plane with my backpack and suitcase, I felt better. I felt like I had been able to release all these bottled up feelings.

I knew I wanted to be a writer.

It has been over ten years since I took out that pink-and-green journal, which still sits on my bookcase. I have moved several more times, lost several more friends and even learned bits of other weird languages, and I have filled many more journals. I have journals that recount my first days of high school, my college experiences, boyfriends, best friends, and not-so-great friends. I have cataloged my engagement and wedding, my spiritual growth over the decade, deaths and losses, and even a global pandemic.

I never stopped writing.

My life looks a lot different now than that 10-year-old girl in the windowsill thought it would, but I couldn’t be happier. Here on this blog, I’m sharing what my life looks like now and what is important to me. As I write this, I am less than 2 months out from finishing my BA in Special education and Elementary Education, and after a short but much needed break, I’ll be beginning my dual licensure MA in Marriage and Family Therapy and Professional Counseling. My research emphasis will be on the cognitive and behavioral development of children, and more specifically, the effects of trauma on both adolescent and adult behavior. I am currently conducting independent research on these subjects, bringing in the fields of criminal psychology and traumatology as well. My aim through all of these pursuits is to provide resources, education, and support on the family and school levels to children facing trauma. To me, in my landscape of education, starting with the youth of our country is the only way to see real change. After all these years, writing continues to be my passion and the best way I have found to speak out about the things that matter to me.

Consider this blog a long-form journal, sharing all I’m learning, reading, questioning, and loving.

I hope you enjoy what you find here. If you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via the Contact page.

All the best,

𝓢𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓱 𝓔. 𝓑𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓸𝓷