Currently: Black History Month Edition

“Let Black women be unapologetic. Expressive. Brave. Soft.” This shirt, created by a Black designer, is available at Target as part of this year’s Black History Month Collection.

It’s time for another edition of Currently!

With this feature, I share with you what I’m currently into hoping that you’ll find something that inspires you too. Since it’s February, I want to do a special Black History Month edition.  

So let’s review what I’m currently watching, reading, writing, planning and loving.

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Fresh Start February: 5 Ways to Begin Again

image via Facebook

Do you need this month to be Fresh Start February?

So often we enter the new year full of hopes and dreams, fueled by our goals and plans. We try to “hit the ground running” only to trip and fall flat on our faces.

If that sounds like you this year, give yourself some grace. Get up (or let someone help you up) and give yourself permission to start again. Give yourself permission to start slow. You don’t have to hit the ground running. Walking is just fine.

February is my birthday month, so it always feels like a fresh start for me. It’s like my own personal New Year. But you deserve a Fresh Start February too. Here’s how to give yourself the new beginning you need.

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I’m Autistic and Writing Helped Me Find My Voice

Woman smiling, posing outside near flowers
Through writing, Lara Boyle found confidence and community.

Editor’s Note: See Jane Write now publishes articles and personal essays by writers who identify as women, non-binary folks, and our allies. Learn more here.

By Lara Boyle

“Why can’t you let her speak for herself?”

That’s what family members and friends would ask my mom. I’d be at the dinner table in a crowded restaurant or even in our living room when my throat would close up. I opened my mouth to speak, but all the words I needed were gone. Under the weight of everybody’s eyes, I shrunk into my seat, unable to do more than clear my throat. I had no issues learning how to talk. I could ramble on and on for hours about horses, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter or my favorite cartoon show, Alex Hirch’s Gravity Falls on Disney. Yet, somehow I still struggled to say what I thought, to find the right words. I wouldn’t find out until I was eighteen years old that this struggle to speak was because I have a type of Autism Spectrum Disorder commonly known as Asperger’s Syndrome. My voice seemed to disappear until I found it scribbled out in jet-black ink on paper.

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The Best Planner for Writers

The best planner for writers is any planner that will help you achieve your writing goals. I always say the magic is in the planning, not the planner. And honestly, the planning is just half the battle. You must follow through to see any progress. But I’m a huge fan of the Day Designer planner because if you put it to use, it can help you not only make time to write but also design a life worth writing about.

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