Sarah Harris started writing in January 2012 because she wanted to navigate her relationships, career shifts and her background as a transnational adoptee from South Korea better. She read that one could become an expert after doing 10,000 hours of something. She then calculated that, if she started by writing 365 words every day, she would become a writer by the time her kids were out of high school.
Sarah’s writing journey has been one of self-discovery and service. The author of the Makes Me Wander blog, she not only discovered how sharing her thoughts and struggles with others can be healing and revealing but wants to help other people feel the power of connection, too. Sarah recently launched a course focused on writing for stress relief and community-building.
During the latest episode of the Speaking of Phenomenal podcast, Sarah and host Amy Boyle discussed the importance of sharing and being vulnerable and how writing can empower us by improving self-knowledge and critical thinking.
Sarah was adopted to America from South Korea when she was eight months old and continued to move to many different places as a child. Many times, she struggled as the "new kid" during her first days at different schools, which made her value connections even more as she grew up. Now a midlife single mother to two college-aged children, she tries to teach others how connection can make their lives easier.
“I try to give back by trying to reach out to others and help them find how they can pivot into something long purpose that they really find passion in,” she told Amy. “I just try to help them figure out what that passion point is and how they can start today.”
Sarah found the connection she needed through writing. She just felt more comfortable sharing things and being 100% herself with strangers online than during in-person interactions.
“What brings me down to sit down and write honestly are the strongest emotions, usually the negative ones, because then I just sit and try to purge them,” she told Amy. She likes to write songs using melodies that already exist. And she encourages people to write every day even if it’s for only 10 minutes on their phone. “Just drop everything there and then it's still there. So you can go back to it if you want to, but it helps temporarily at least give you that release.”
In her recent 5 week course, Sarah hopes writers use it as an exercise in which they talk to themselves, with privacy and freedom. And of course, connecting with the other participants.
Now we want to hear from you: What are your favorite ways to express your emotions, concerns and desires?
Carolina Baldin is a freelance journalist from Brazil. Having worked in law, policy and regulation, she is passionate about everyday stories that illustrate larger issues. She graduated from a master's program at Northwestern University in 2023 and became a guest blogger on the "Speaking of Phenomenal" podcast blog in March 2024.
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