Welcome to My Newsletter: Subject to Change

I'm glad you're here, and I think you will be, too.

Hey there–

Welcome to Subject to Change¹, where every Tuesday² you’ll find yourself rethinking something. My intention here is to inspire new ways of thinking, dismantle what we consider to be true, and discover ways in which we’ve been wrong and can do better. 

But first, the story of what brought us together: 

Like many first-year college students, I had every intention of becoming a doctor (oooh, ahhh). I was a biology major, pre-med, and by midterms during my first semester, I was miserable. Despite enjoying it in high school, I quickly learned that science was — how do I put this? — not my jam. 

I knew I needed to pivot, but I couldn’t allow myself to change course until I figured out an answer to this question: “If not Biology, then what?” — a question that left me feeling paralyzed by indecision.

That is, until I realized I was asking the wrong question. I kept trying to replace Biology with something else, but the real question should have been: Biology or Not Biology?

Pretend this bulb is lit. (Photo by Diego PH on Unsplash)

The speed at which I buzzed in to answer that question could have landed me a spot on Jeopardy!!³

Reframing the question genuinely changed my life for the better. Not simply because it gave way to new career paths and life plans, but because doing so made me realize the importance of being flexible and adaptable when I encounter challenging situations.

Truthfully, reframing the question was the catalyst to embark on this journey⁴ to spend more time improving myself than proving myself⁵.

So if you’ve ever found yourself feeling inflexible or stagnant in your own personal growth, this is for you. The topics we’ll tackle will help you discover more about yourself, build stronger relationships, engage more meaningfully in the world around you, and get those critical thinking neurons firing. 

I only have my own experiences (and a background in clinical mental health counseling) as a frame of reference⁶ to navigate this world, so I’ll be sharing stories each week⁷ and I hope you’ll do the same⁸.

Personally, I look forward to continually making mistakes, to learning I was wrong, and to growing every time I stumble. Instead of learning from me, I hope that you’ll learn with me. Together, we’re going to become the best versions of ourselves.

I’m really glad you’re here,

J

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PS: Please consider subscribing to my other publication: Narrative Musings: Anecdotal Evidence of a Life Well-Lived (or, at least, well-observed).

1. We’re testing out this title. Other potential working title: You Sure About That? If you have a better title in mind, or want to validate my current choice, please let me know!

2. This may be a lofty aspiration, but we’ll see how it goes and modify accordingly.

3. The second exclamation point was intentional. The show title: Jeopardy! The second != my enthusiasm. For what it’s worth, it would take a lot more than a teenage epiphany to warrant a double exclamation mark in my book.

4. This is where I’m at, right now, no horizon to crest in sight.

5. But also: I do love me some external validation, so there’s a little proving going on here.

6. Don’t we all?

7. Again, this is aspirational. I might have just agreed last week to take on another incredibly daunting and time-consuming project that I’m super stoked about and will write about eventually. And while I do believe in Parkinson’s Law (that our work expands for the time allotted), I don’t believe time will expand to fit all the things I’d love to be able to do.

8. If you don’t want to share publicly, you can email me your stories!