Writing more, and feeling good about it

Five years ago, I was so wobbly of mind and body that I wondered if I would ever be able to do anything again.

I've written a lot about the physical aspects of coming back, but not so much the work-related.

I wanted to keep writing, but I was out of a job, my clips were old, and my resume needed freshing up. Just working on the resume was an ordeal, as was trying to figure out how to refashion myself as a freelancer. My friend at Dana-Farber, Saul Wisnia, gave me the opportunity to write a piece for Dana-Farber's "Paths of Progress." He connected me with a freelancer who had worked at Dana-Farber, and she told me to reach out to all my contacts. It seemed an overwhelming task, but at least I had one new clip.

I got one story to write, and then another and another. I still didn't have a full plate and wanted to do more with my time, so I started volunteering at The Literacy Project teaching ESL to adults. Just recently I felt like I could do more (it may sound like I play tennis all the time, but I really don't) so I started researching other volunteer opportunities.

Around that time, I was asked to fill in temporarily in Mount Holyoke's communications department, writing three stories each week for the news and events section on their website. This was right up my alley! I have been doing it for a few weeks; I get the assignments on Monday and they are due on Thursday.

It has been going really well, and it feels good to have gotten a mental tuneup. I am not used to that intensity of work, so the first week it ran through my mind at night. But I got it back quickly. When I got my first newspaper job at the old Transcript-Telegram, the deadline pressure made me feel sick. But I got used to it, and now the ability to write fast and focused is serving me well.