by jocelynsagemitchell | Jan 14, 2023 | Be Mindful
What does it mean to have enough? I’ve been thinking about that question a lot this year. It is so easy to focus on what you don’t have and what you are still striving toward, rather than taking a deep breath and appreciating what is already all around you. I was...
by jocelynsagemitchell | Oct 12, 2022 | Be Mindful
Jocelyn Mitchell’s original one-subject notebook from Honors Chemistry, 1996–1997 I’ve previously extolled the virtues of high school chemistry class. Chemistry’s molecular patterns are mathematical and regular: if you do X, you’ll get Y. There aren’t many...
by jocelynsagemitchell | Sep 16, 2022 | Be Mindful
Last month, I reflected on completing a 300-day streak of the New York Times crossword. Doing the crossword every day—and getting better at it over time—helped me reinforce my growth mindset: that each of us has the ability to learn, to grow, and to get better at...
by jocelynsagemitchell | Sep 11, 2022 | Be Mindful
I will always remember where I was when I realized what was happening on September 11, 2001. It was morning on the East Coast and I was in my undergraduate dorm, getting ready for my first class. One of my sorority sisters—the civic-minded one who always watched CNN...
by jocelynsagemitchell | Aug 23, 2022 | Be Mindful
We’ve all heard the adage from Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” And the journey of a 300-day streak in the New York Times crossword begins with… crossword #1! In all honesty, I didn’t set out to accomplish such...
by jocelynsagemitchell | Jun 21, 2022 | Be Mindful
One of the most famous quotes in Henry David Thoreau’s Walden comes in the concluding chapter, when Thoreau is explaining why he left his cabin in the woods. Giving fodder to high school yearbook quotes for centuries, Thoreau begins his famous paragraph by writing: “I...
