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A Personal Anniversary
Yesterday marked the anniversary of a MAJOR life decision for me: eight years earlier, to the day, I informed my Ph.D. program that I was quitting. I have never once regretted it. …
Laura
Laura left a Ph.D. program at age 26 to make good on long-forgotten dreams of nomad'ing and writing. She currently lives in Berlin and writes about the magic of everyday life — most especially, the magic we find when we open our hearts and choose to follow them. 
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Taking the Leap Without a Net
What actually happens when you move abroad with no job lined up and little savings? I’ve done this. Three times. …
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The Essence of Immortality
When I took a DNA test at Penn State in 2014, I didn’t plan to explore my family tree. I just figured I’d give my spit sample for the study and learn a little about …
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Gratuitous Poetry!
Walking around Berlin on Thursday night, the beginnings of this ebbed into my head. Then, on Friday night, having cheesecake with my roommate, I was overcome with the urge to jot down a first draft. …
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Unboxing Challenge: Update
Several months ago, I started the Unboxing Challenge. I was waking up to some of the ways in which I’d been shunning or downplaying various blessings in my life. Writing has long been how I …
Making Peace with a Unique Destiny
I just finished reading a novel about a woman who believed herself to be cursed by god. The novel was The Sybil, by Nobel Prize winner Pär Lagerqvist. As it turns out, what the protagonist had believed was …
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Unboxing Challenge — Day 10: This Guy
Four years ago, I randomly thought, “I want a handsome guy to hang out with.” Took the universe approximately one hour to deliver on that one: I returned “home” to the hostel where I was …
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Unboxing Challenge — Day 9: Reading Tarot
I was 16 when I bought my first deck of cards. I don’t even know where to begin talking about how investing time in learning to read cards has enriched my life. And my own …
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Unboxing Challenge — Day 8: Breast Implants
I was agonizing recently over the decision between a boat-sized chaise, a sofa-bed sectional, or a (tiny) proper bed for my new apartment (#therecanonlybeone) — when suddenly I had this funny daydream: I imagined myself …
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Unboxing Challenge — Day 7: Stardust Bracelet
I first lived in Berlin for a short spell in 2014. I’m not, by any means, financially well-off now, but back then, in some ways, it was even harder. I was several years into a …