I Am Not My Hair

“Javacia — the girl with the long, pretty hair.”

That’s how people have described me for most of my life. As I got older and started making a name for myself as a writer, blogger, business owner, and teacher, I thought this would change. And in some ways, it did. In some circles, I’m “the blogger girl.” Some people actually call me “See Jane Write.” And to my former students, I will always be “Mrs. Bowser.”

But for most people, I just went from being “the girl with the long, pretty hair” to “the lady with the long, pretty hair.”

I know I should have been flattered. Someone saying my hair is pretty is a compliment. But I was tired of people paying more attention to my hair than to me.

On May 7, I started chemotherapy for breast cancer and by the end of the month I’d lost my “long, pretty hair.” But even in its absence, my hair continues to steal the show.

(more…)

Why You Should Join the See Jane Write Network Facebook Group

As we all continue to stay safe at home in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic we must rethink what it means to be a part of a writing community.

These days, we can’t – or at least we shouldn’t – huddle up with our writing friends and blogging buddies in tiny side rooms at our favorite coffee shops. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still get the support we need from our fellow creatives. As you work on your next post or project you can get the encouragement you need and still practice social distancing.

Of course, I think the best way to find the online writing community you need is to become a member of the See Jane Write Collective. Enrollment for membership won’t reopen until the fall, but you don’t have to be all alone until then. You can join our free Facebook group, the See Jane Write Network, today!

Here’s why you should:

(more…)

My New 40 Before 40 List

For me, this month is all about hitting the reset button. I reset my 2020 goals. I revamped the See Jane Write website. And I’m doing the work to reset my relationship with God.

I’ve also been resetting my 40 Before 40 list.

Back in February when I turned 39 I shared a list of 40 things I want to do before my 40th birthday.

Then COVID-19 ended the world as we knew it.

Shortly after that I learned I would need to undergo chemotherapy. (In case you’re new around here, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in January, but initially told I would only need surgery and radiation for treatment.)

COVID, cancer, and chemo obviously mean that many of my 40 Before 40 plans — like traveling and hosting in-person events — simply can’t happen. And for a while, I was going to just ditch the whole project. But that felt too much like giving up and that’s something I refuse to do.

So here’s my updated 40 Before 40 List.

(more…)

Writing My Way Back to God

I was a freshman in college when I first started keeping a prayer journal. Merging my love for writing with my love for God was exactly what I needed to take my faith to another level. My prayer journal became a collection of love letters to God. My prayers became poetry and suddenly God was everything and everywhere. God was a post-workout smoothie. God was the sun kissing my brown skin when I would lie on the quad reading. Once on New Year’s Eve, I felt God with me on the dance floor of a night club.

Prayer has not made me immune to crises of faith. These crises usually happen when so-called Christians are being racist, sexist, homophobic, or xenophobic in Jesus’ name. I stop going to church and I start questioning everything – until I remember the God I fell in love with so many years ago.

But this time things are different.

(more…)