Tag: health

Goals and Resolutions for 2019

- Alexis Leave a comment

New Year’s Eve/Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. It’s an occasion to reflect on what has been and look forward to what will be, to process the past and leave it behind before making a fresh start. I love the hope that January 1 brings. Now that the winter solstice is behind us, I find myself getting exited about the days growing longer, the weather getting warmer, and all the adventures that lie ahead.

2018 was a year of transition for me, and also a year of joy. I spent most of the year settling into parenthood and finding a new normal, so until very recently, I haven’t been setting many goals or tackling new challenges (aside from the big and obvious challenges of caring for an infant and managing to keep the machinery of life chugging along). I now feel ready to reprioritize some of my former goals and begin moving forward again.

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Here’s What Self Care Looks Like to Me

- Alexis Leave a comment
Charcoal drawing of a woman’s head with eyes closed

Charcoal drawing of a woman’s head with eyes closed

My son and I both came down with a cold this week (not surprising given that he started day care last week), so this seems like a good time to discuss self care.  Over the past few years, the concept of self care has taken over the internet, with women’s websites constantly telling us we need to escape from our lives and indulge ourselves with expensive products, time-consuming rituals, and unhealthy splurges — as if we need one more thing to do.  (Ever notice that these self-care articles rarely seem to be directed at men? I guess the assumption is that they already know how to take care of themselves.)

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Imagining the Ideal Life

- Alexis 1 Comment

Black and white photo of a wooden bridge in the woods

Yesterday I had the pleasure of conducting mock interviews of law students in preparation for the upcoming interview season.  They were eager and well-prepared, looking out at the endless possibilities that lay ahead if them.  I asked them where they saw themselves five years after graduation, and I answered their questions about my job, including what had led me to it, what I loved about it, and what, if anything, I might change.

When I was in their position ten years ago, I hated the “where do you see yourself in x years?” question.  I had no real vision for my future.  I guess I figured if I followed all the recommended steps — work hard, get good grades, network, get a good job at a big firm — everything would fall into place and I’d end up with the life I was supposed to have, whatever that was.  I really didn’t know enough about the world or myself to know what I wanted my life to look like.  I could recite answers to interview questions, but the visions I described were really other peoples’ ideas of what a good life and career looked like.

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