In today’s episode, I’m joined by Kerry Graham.

Kerry is an incredibly invested teacher and a great writer — and she is one of the first followers of this very podcast who wasn’t my best friend or my mom :)

Kerry is also a writer, with work appearing in several publications including the Huffington Post and Thought Catalog, and a weekly collaborative newsletter she founded called In This Together. 

Today Kerry and I talk about why bravery is a discipline — and how she builds that muscle through practicing being brave every single day, with her students, in her writing, by taking care of her mental health, and more.

We also talk about:

• How (and why) she became a teacher after swearing she’d never be one
• The ways that her high school students encourage and inspire her to be brave
• Why she decided to write and share publicly about her decision not to have kids
• How she’s started to shift away from letting other people’s opinions influence her

In this conversation, Kerry helps to highlight that being brave doesn’t always look like the big, sweeping, life-changing-in-a-split-second actions we sometimes assume it does. 

Being brave also looks like choosing to own your decisions about your body and your life, taking care of your mental health, and sharing the things we feel the most shame about.

Kerry and I share so much in common as writers and as humans, and I’m really grateful that we got to share in conversation about the really beautiful and brave ways that she shows up in the world.

In today’s conversation with Kerry, I hope you got to see the seemingly small (but actually very big) ways you can practice being brave in your own life starting right now.

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Follow Kerry:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• In This Together Newsletter

Other Notable Links:

• Kerry’s Decision to Remain Child-Free Essay
• Kerry’s People-Pleasing Essay
• Kerry’s Anxiety Essay
• Kerry’s Interview on Maybe Someday

 

CREDITS

Editing & Sound Engineering: Jordan Johansen

Music: “Kenton” by Dr Crosby (Licensed via Marmoset)