Writing By Laura

Since this #TBIthursday falls on Thanksgiving Day (here in the US) and my feature this week is a writing update, I thought I would take this chance to write about how I am thankful for still having the ability to write (and pursue my dreams of being a published author) after suffering a severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

It perhaps is very self-involved to focus on being thankful for something very specific to me and my brain injury when this year the world has suffered so much that being thankful for the ability to write seems self-indulgent. I should be thankful for the health of myself and my friends and family, etc. However, I am thankful for that, I just am focusing on writing because it really affects and shapes my worldview and I can’t help but be incredibly thankful for it. Also, without my ability to write I wouldn’t be writing my brain injury story (memoir) or this blog.

So bare with me as I get a little introspective in this #TBIthursday and writing update.

In the United States this is the time of year to focus on being thankful. We should really be thankful year-round, but it tends to happen vocally this time of year. Just visualize a small child reciting the things they’re thankful for between bites of turkey and mashed potatoes at the Thanksgiving table. So instead of that thankful small child, you get me (not as small but just as thankful)!

After my coma and severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), thankfulness is something I am more connected to. While I am thankful for many things, at the root of it is that I am thankful for surviving. And after I wade through all the people and things I am thankful for, I truly am thankful I can still express myself through writing. At my core, I’m a writer. As I continue to recover from my injuries and learn new skills, I always go back to the original skill (talent?) I have had since 12 or 13. Writing. I am learning that writing was always there to see me through each challenge and for that I am endlessly thankful and grateful. There was no guarantee after the accident I was in that I would be able to function as I had as a writer. It’s a continuing process, this healing and recovery, but learning to write my brain injury story while living WITH a brain injury is a process and journey I am thankful for.

Monthly Feature: Writing Update

Last month, I promised to be more regimented in my writing habits this month. I didn’t really succeed in that. However, after a discussion with my psychologist about setting goals and achieving them, I am putting a new strategy in place. See below for the graphic I created about SMART goals. I plan to use this strategy to achieve many things but I am starting smaller with daily exercise and I will move on from there to writing goals.

#CreativityForDays Weekly Project Summary

I have been creating plenty of cards and artwork. This week in addition to some Thanksgiving-related cards, I also created a thank you card and put together the Christmas card that we ordered through Shutterfly (I will share that once we send it out because I am pleased with what I did). However, the project I want to highlight is a graphic design based on a concept my psychologist mentioned to me during our last session. I mentioned my inability to achieve goals lately. That’s when my psychologist mentioned SMART goals. SMART goals are pretty commonplace in business environments. I don’t recall the term, but I am surprised I hadn’t heard it before. I found it defined on a job search website I have used, Indeed. Indeed had a graphic design of SMART goals that I used as inspiration for this design. I am going to use this technique on a few smaller goals I have and go from there.

A Selby Sweetie Conclusion and Throwback

Since today is Thanksgiving, I thought I would share some things Selby is thankful for: her favorite cousin doggy, Bella, and her favorite person (Me).