February 12, 2020

11. Digging Deep to Know & Share Your Truth | Jessica Ciencin Henriquez

1 hour 14 minutes

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Jessica Ciencin Henriquez.

Jessica is a writer (yes, I very clearly have a podcast guest type), editor, and teacher who is best known for her personal essays and narrative journalism, with pieces that have been featured in the New York Times’ Modern Love column, Self Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue, Time, and Parents, among many others. Her essays have also been featured in multiple anthologies, including: Oprah's Little Guide to The Big Questions. She is the author of the forthcoming memoir: If You Loved Me You Would Know, and she currently lives and writes in Bali.

Today, Jess and I talk about writing, of course, but it goes so much deeper than that: We talk about moving past the fear of judgment; having hard, honest conversations; deepening our empathy for and curiosity about the people around us; and designing the lives we want to live.

We also talk about:

How a Craigslist ad became her most popular piece of writing
How she shifts her own negative beliefs
How teaching writing became a masterclass on teaching life
Why she chose to move to Bali and how the move has already changed her
Why her brave next step will require her to finally put down roots
. . . and so much more.

In this conversation, Jess showcases what it looks like to live a life of intention: to choose who you want to be and how you want to show up and the impact you want to have in the world — and then to choose actions every single day that align with that vision. She doesn’t claim to be perfect at it, but I was so inspired by her example!

Our conversation reminded me of the good in everyone around me (and in myself!) and in every experience I’ve ever had. I hope this conversation inspires you to see that — and believe that — too.

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