A few days ago, I woke up from a nightmare. In it, I was with my friend and our dogs. We were all enjoying a summer day by the river. Out of nowhere, a tidal wave came upstream and drowned some of the people near us. My friend and I somehow stayed afloat. This scene …
I’ve always loved words: learning them, reading them, writing them. I’m fascinated by how cultures are partially created by words, and by a realization that we can’t always understand each other because someone else may – literally – have no words to describe a particular feeling or experience. Part of the reason I started a …
After my last blog post, I received feedback from a few people: my point wasn’t clear; the writing was rushed; my references were too vague; I was over-simplifying complex problems; I wasn’t being considerate enough of people born into different circumstances. I agreed. Even as I was writing, I had a gut feeling it wasn’t …
A few weeks ago, I was leaving an appointment and noticed it had started snowing. By the time I merged onto a busy road (“the Deerfoot” for those who know Calgary), the wind was blowing and it had become difficult to see the separation between lanes. Minutes later, a car beside me started to move …
As I’ve said before, one benefit of my job is meeting new people and encountering new perspectives. In early 2020, I was in another city for meetings (strange to think that was the last time I was on a plane!), which started with several of the attendees gathering at a pub for supper. (As all …
This wasn’t meant to be a new year’s post. But I’ve put off writing in favour of eating a lot of cheese, drinking a lot of red wine and dark beer, and watching a lot of Netflix. And now it’s December 31, and here we are. Last year, I posted a summary of the first …
I’ve been thinking a lot about the word “but”. Sure, now you’re thinking, “Oh, here she goes…this is one of those ‘Kelli’s in her head again’ blogs.” Really? If you read this thing, you know that’s pretty much all it ever is. Seriously though. As I recently said to someone, the three little letters in “but” can …
Yesterday, I reviewed an 80+ page document, looking for patterns and themes. My colleagues and I have been writing weekly reflections about our work, and we want to summarize what we've learned. The act of reflecting is not unique to people in the social sector, but writing reflections is something any social work student quickly …
I’m told that I often come across like I confidently believe whatever perspective I’m putting forward, or whatever point I’m making. The truth is, I’m a lot less tied to my beliefs than it sounds. I like when people respond to me with phrases like, “but what about…” and “don’t you think you’re missing…” So, …
Continue reading Maybe there’s more? What kind of name is that?
I think it was mid-2005 when people first asked if I would start a blog. At the time, I was about to leave on my first big backpacking trip, and I was afraid of everything about backpacking. If I’d been less afraid of breaking a promise to Georgina (the friend I was joining in Europe), …
Maybe There's More 