A New Blog | Origins of Kinship Journal

Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. 2025

From photogrAPhy site to a blog about connections

After some soul-searching and creating a much-needed author profile for when I do publish a book, I felt the same struggle creep up on me: what am I doing? I am a writer, but I am also a photographer, traveler, avid reader, advocate, nature enthusiast, furniture refinisher, person of faith, and empath. Then I listened to a TED Talk by Emilie Wapnick on being a multi-potentialite, which opened my eyes to my identity. I prefer the term “Multi-Passionate Creative," but the idea is the same. I do not have to choose just one creative source to focus on, I could utilize them all. For years, I have been told that I need to settle down to one medium or creative outlet, and here I was learning that all my passions are valid and even essential. 

I have had a blog which has been a hodgepodge of travel and nature photos, thoughts on mental health, and book reviews. After additional guidance from Dina Lu and Kelsey Rodriguez, I learned that I needed a through line, something that everything connects back to. It took a while and many pages of ideas. Then something from a book I read last year came to me. In Wilderness and the American Mind, a book I found at my local library, I read about man’s kinship with nature. The idea that humanity needs nature for rest and to feel connected with the earth, while nature needs humanity to protect and preserve it. Then it hit me like a smack in the face:

I want to write about how people are connected and how we are all connected to nature. I have my through line, and the word that came to me was Kinship. 

The word “ kinship " generally means a blood relation, sharing of characteristics, or origins. When I thought about the world, it came to mind that from One came all of creation. That humanity, although different in language, culture, and land, is all one. We are formed in the same way, live, breathe, and die. Even though we are worlds apart, we are one people. Likewise, flora and fauna share kinship in the process of creation. They also need the Earth and the sun to survive. Without nature, people would be even more weary, downhearted, and depressed. 

There became a longing to write about connections, links, intersections, dependencies, and reconciliation. Instead of choosing one area or passion, I am connecting with as many as I can through my new blog, Kinship Journal. Here I will write about a range of topics, use my own photos, share my travels, and the books that I read. In the future, I hope to find others who want to write and contribute to the idea of kinship and finding ways to bring people together and restore a connection with nature.

For now, I am focusing on four different areas of interest:

Mindful Living

Staying clear of the overused idea of Slow Living, I want to share my personal mindset, priorities, and life goals. I am not writing from a place of authority, but merely want to be a positive voice amid so much division, reminding people that they are amazing exactly as they are. I am very interested in hearing from others and learning more about how people are mindful and intentional in their own lives.

Reading Reflections

I have never liked giving book reviews. Subjective thoughts given on subjective writing have never equaled objectivity. Instead, I learned about the practice of reading reflections. More academic in nature, I am sharing informally why I chose a particular book, what my expectations were, what stood out to me, and what I gained from reading. No ratings or recommendations. Just thoughts on books I want to share. I will also post any noteworthy quotes that stood out to me, along with why they resonate with me.

Travelogue

In the past, I have posted my travel photos as either a gallery or a journal, documenting the events of each day. In the future, I will be focusing on photographing the different ways that people and nature are connected, even when on the other side of the country or even the globe. Hopefully, people will share how they felt connected even while traveling.

Wellness

The topic of wellness won't be a bunch of lists telling you what you should or shouldn’t do. Instead, it will be a collection of thoughts and experiences about dealing with different practices and struggles. Many topics will be related to mental health, but not all will be. The goal is to expand on topics such as personality types, traits, boundaries, self-care, solitude, rest, and many more.

With a focus on kinship and a desire to explore communal empathy, Kinship Journal aims to be a resource for understanding links, friendships, similarities, and connections. It serves as a platform where writing unites people, highlights commonalities, and fosters bonds. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of nature and the need to preserve green spaces in our world.

What topics would you like to read about in relation to kinship? What is your multi-passionate creative origin story? What different creative interests do you connect together to create something new and marvelous?