By Jen Meli

On a Thursday morning in June, I drifted in and out of sleep. The last dream I had came to me as the sun rose.

In my dream, my husband Joe and I were getting our house ready for a visitor. My grandfather would arrive at any moment.

When my grandfather pulled his car into the driveway, Joe and I went outside to greet him. My grandfather got out of the car and stood in the driveway. It was autumn outside and just a bit chilly. He wore a suit and coat; the coat was tailored, but the suit hung a bit loose on him. He looked like he’d lost a bit of weight. He was never heavy, but I never knew him to be quite as slender.

I was becoming more lucid in my dream. I stood in the driveway, seeing him as if for the first time. He had a full head of silver hair–the way it had looked when I was young. He smiled at me, eyes shining behind an old pair of glasses I can remember him having when I was young.

A sudden realization hit me. He wasn’t supposed to be there, standing in my driveway. He passed away 12 years ago. Continue reading “So Many Wonderful Things” →

For about a decade now, I’ve set goals for myself at the beginning of each year. Ambition has no expiration date, of course, but I’ve found that yearly goals are a good timeframe if I really want to get things done.

Getting my master’s degree, following my chosen career path, learning how to read tarot, traveling to retreats on my own, vacationing in Sweden, and starting a business were all things that happened for me because I set out to accomplish them. And sure, these aren’t earth-shattering things, but we can’t learn and grow from our experiences without planting those initial seeds.

Yet in order to make things happen for myself, I’ve found that I first need to be in the right mindset. In the past, I’ve struggled with depression, had a one-time dream career fizzle, and dealt with unemployment.

Story time: I used to work as an adjunct lecturer at a couple of local colleges. Honestly, I loved working with students, but the pay was very low and the workload was heavy. As a part-time employee with no benefits or job security, I didn’t feel respected, and some semesters the work just wasn’t available.

I didn’t think there was much I could do with my degree, an M.A. in English and Creative Writing. I thought teaching was my only option–and the one I wanted most of all–even if it did mean a very unsteady paycheck.

Today, I work as a content marketer. I’ve also begun Words & Wands as a freelance writer, editor, and consultant (and for a time as a tarot reader, too). And I’m working toward publishing my own fiction writing.

What changed? I stopped trying to pursue something that no longer brought me happiness. Continue reading “5 Ways to Set Yearly Goals (and See Results)” →

This July, I celebrated my 32^nd birthday. Although I’ve set my annual goals each January for years, I sometimes find it challenging to focus on the long term.

The last time I remember coming up with as much as a five-year plan was, perhaps oddly, in the middle of a job interview many years ago. I was fresh out of college and in need of work to begin paying back all those student loans. I snagged an interview at a call center for a payroll and benefits company – something I was, as a creative, not so enthused about!

Pro tip: when an employer asks you where you see yourself in five years, the answer they’re usually looking for is something along the lines of “Working for your company” or “Moving up the ladder in your industry.” The answer I gave during this interview was nothing of the sort.

“In five years,” I’d said, thinking big, “I’d like to have my master’s degree in English, and I want to teach college-level writing classes.”

It probably goes without saying that I did not get that job. Continue reading “40 Things to Do Before I Turn 40” →