Lisa Jakub's Blog, page 7

Stepping back: lessons of 2014

In 2014, an astonishing number of people continued to google “Lisa Jakub feet” – and I still aim to please.

As I said last year, I’m not really a fan of New Year’s resolutions. They tend to be vague proclamations, glorifyingsome unrealistic ideal, and often resulting in a deep feeling of inadequacyand another lapsed gym membership.

I prefer to look back at what I learned over the past year. Once again, 2014 was a year of throwing myself into a free-fall of new and slightly terrifying situations...

Happy freaking holidays: a guide to surviving December

This is a stressful time of year.

Sure, it’s joyous and whatever too, but let’s not candy-cane-coat this. Many people are feeling a time crunch, family pressures and money stress.Those of us who struggle withanxiety and/or depression tend to have a hard time, thanks to ridiculous holiday expectations.

But we can do this.

Here are somethingsthathelp me this time of year.

Leave

Walking (especially with the dog) is sacred time for me. Even a few minutes of fresh air helps clear myhead, get me grounde...

Moving on: usefulness, beauty and a lot of cardboard boxes

“Have nothing in your home which you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

~ William Morris

We’re moving.

They say that moving is one of those highly stressful life events that ranks up there with divorce or death of a family member.

I love moving.

I know. It’s weird.

We moved a lot when I was a kid, and I’ve continued that into my adulthood. I love any reason to get introspective and over-think things, and moving offers a plethora of opportunities for life evaluation.

When I was gr...

Moving on: usefulness, beauty and a lot of carboard boxes

“Have nothing in your home which you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

~ William Morris

We’re moving.

They say that moving is one of those highly stressful life events that ranks up there with divorce or death of a family member.

I love moving.

I know. It’s weird.

We moved a lot when I was a kid, and I’ve continued that into my adulthood. I love any reason to get introspective and over-think things, and moving offers a plethora of opportunities for life evaluation.

When I was gr...

Do I have to burn my diploma? An open letter to the University of Virginia

Dear UVA,

I love you.

Half of my wardrobe is orange and blue. My car is covered in your stickers and my dog often sports a UVA collar.

I started undergrad at UVA at the age of 28. I was a high school drop out with a GED, no life experience outside of acting in movies, and a deep desire to learn. The day I graduated, in 2010 at the age of 32, was the proudest day of my life. You accepted me, you gave me a nurturing, safe place to spend four years.

At least, for me it was safe.

For many other women,...

Hey, wake up – this is your dream

Lisa Jakub – author. Age 8.

A few weeks ago,I was sitting by a pond with my friend, T. It was a warmfall day and the pond looked as ifit had been ripped out ofIdyllic Ponds Monthly Magazine. There were gently rustling reeds, lazy koi fish kissing the surface of the water and a heron, arrogantly surveying it all fromthe shoreline.

T is a writer and an English professor and we were talking about writerly things, like muses, death and Scotch. We talked about my book being published and he told me...

Sticks and stones and broken bones: an anniversary

When I was 11 years old, I broke my back running into a burning building to save a puppy.

Sorry.

That’s a lie.

But it sounds so much better than the truth.

When I was 11 years old, I broke my back falling out of a chair.

I was siting in one ofthose office chairs with wheelson them. I pushed back to get up, the wheels caught on the carpet, l fell backwards, hit a wall, crushed three vertebrae between my shoulder blades and got severe whiplash in my lower back.

It’s not a good story. In any way.

I spe...

On letting go: growing pains and book publishing

I’m getting to the point with my book where I need to submit the final draft of my manuscript to the publishers. Because then, copyeditors and proofreaders can do their work and try to make some logical sense of the random places where I chose to put commas. Then, it will go off to the designers and on to the presses and off the presses and into cardboard boxes to go off to bookstores.

It’s entirely exciting.

And incredibly painful.

Because for the last several years, I’ve been watching this boo...

Upcoming event at Bowers Writers House at Elizabeth College

I am super thrilled to be speaking at Bowers Writers House at Elizabethtown College in PA!

In two weeks, I’ll be discussing inspiration, the creative process and I’ll be reading a chapter from my book. I’ll also try to stay calm and not just squeal with excitement about getting to talk writing all weekend.

I’ve done talks at high schools and conventions before but this will be my first time at a college. I still get nervous about the whole try-not-to-look-stupid-in-front-of-people thing…but I r...

Emma Watson, feminism and thoughts from my college advisor

“All that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing.”

~Emma Watson, quoting Edmund Burke at the United Nations

I recently watchedEmma Watson’s speech to the UN about feminism. I had shivers the whole time.She got me thinking about digging upthis post I wrote a while ago, but was too timid to publish, because for some reason “feminism” has recently become a hot-button issue.

Then I read about all the horriblethreats she is getting as a result of her speec...