Hey there...
...how the heck are ya? If you're visiting this page, it's likely that you already know me and therefore I feel no obligation to make you read some glib-n-quippy introduction that can in no way be comprehensive of my actual personality or character. That said, there is a chance that we don't actually know each other...in which case, I hope I have not blown the opportunity to make a good first impression. Please enjoy the short (incomprehensive) bio below, and if it doesn't scare you away, feel free to connect with me through the Contact page.
My Story
As with all things I write, I'm not quite sure how to begin a bio, but hopefully it will figure itself out along the way. (Honestly, that statement alone is pretty encompassing of "who I am" and how I function in the world today, but let me see if I can provide some more substantive material...)
I grew up in northern Minnesota seven miles inland from Lake Superior--to many, in the "middle of nowhere"--a blessing I didn't fully appreciate until I moved away for college (Luther College, Decorah, IA) and in the couple of years after. That said, I've called many places "home" in the midst of (and since) graduating in 2020: northeastern Iowa, central Chile, northwestern Montana, eastern Tennessee, central Iowa, western Mexico, and, currently, northern Minnesota. In all of these places, I've learned (and continue to learn) how to seek out wild spaces in the midst of the mundane, how to put roots down while still honoring that yearning to "run," and how to treasure the day-to-day little things and the Joy and Love that lives in me...despite my mind's tendency to reside in the existential. Can anyone relate? (I hope so, because these themes tend to permeate everything I write, and if you stick around, you'll surely see that.)
As I've alluded to elsewhere on this platform, I'm a lot of things: a teacher, a writer, an adventurer, a sister, a daughter, a friend, just to name a few. I ask big questions and sometimes they hurt my head. I feel big feelings and sometimes they hurt my heart. Writing helps me release them--or at least put them in a treasury where they might provide some relatability or, if I'm lucky, some wisdom unto myself--like when you stare at a puzzle piece for three days, clueless, and then, just when you're about to give up, you pause in the middle of cleaning the lint out of the dryer filter and go, "OHMYGOSH I GET IT" and sprint over to the puzzle to snap that last piece into place. Thank you for staring at the puzzle with me...or gathering lint with me while we hope against hope. And if you reach an epiphany, I hope you'll be kind enough to share it.
​
If nothing else, I hope that, through the exchanging of words, you know that you have a place and a voice in this great, wide world, and that you are not alone. If you are in search of "home," meaning, Life, Truth, purpose, and clarity, you've got a companion here--welcome to the journey.
​
:) Shannon
Let's connect
Don't get the wrong idea from that intro--I really value personal connection, and I do better with intentional, 1:1 conversation. Feel free to reach out!