Jennifer Hoppins

Image making through words is my jam, someday my bread. Evoking emotional truth, wisdom and courage through short pieces, poetry and vignettes is my goal. Life breaks apart as we live through it, but leaves memory fragments to collect like shells from the sea. We are our own best renewable resource when it comes to a writing life. I teach by drawing out what is within; living is the curriculum. Ordinary is often simplified and ignored, until we attempt to write it. Struggle and complexity exist in all elements of life; even a rock at rest for millenia can tell a compelling story. Personal writing is compassionate communion; to that end it makes us pay close attention to tone, purpose and responsibility. I write to engage others in conversation, to draw out potential, to relate, to practice kindness. I once believed that writing was only useful for arguments and persuasion. Through the practice of blogging I found that it has the potential to alter our world view and self perception to become a catalyst for gratitude and love. Now I write to come alive, to come home to myself when stretched with forces that pull me in all directions. It is a centering, mindful practice which surprises and informs my path. Above all, it has drawn me closer to my family; to a husband who is my closest friend and devoted lover, to my children, keepers of my heart light. It has healed complicated relationships and brought tenderness to my speaking voice. Writing matters not for what it is worth on the outside, but what it does to your inside.