I’m Jennie. According to my facebook profile, I’m a rainbow-seeking backpacker, tea-drinking knitter, searching for ways to make the world more beautiful. I’m also a relatively introverted recovering perfectionist, continually striving to slow down and fully experience this exhilarating, sometimes terrifying, life.

The natural world is my way of making sense of my world. When I’m struggling or stuck, I tend to look to the mountains and the forests for answers. I realize that everything is connected, nothing is perfect and yet somehow it’s all perfect in its imperfection. Life comes in cycles, and for everything there is a season. And through it all, it is enough.

I’ve discovered over the past decade that I like doing hard things. While the moments of being uncomfortable are, well, uncomfortable, I realize that this is how I grow. This blog is another hard thing for me, a combination of continuing to dig and uncover myself in all of my glorious imperfection, and to lay it bare for an unknown audience. In the coming weeks and months and years, I hope to share my experiences, thoughts, and what I have learned from others in my life, both human and nonhuman. I want to rock the boat, buck the system, and poke a few holes in this cultural illusion that keeps saying go faster and do more. My hope is that someone may be able to connect to my words and experiences, and to grow their own beautiful, messy life.

Thanks for taking time to explore with me.

An image of the blog author Jennie Swantz. She is a caucasian woman in her mid-40s with medium length brown hair. She is wearing sunglasses and has her hair in two braids. In the background is water with a small island in the upper left corner.