Jessica L. Elliott

 I've debated for a while about whether or not to write this. It's not totally related to writing and it really doesn't even relate to my books. But this topic is weighing heavily on my heart, and the more commentary I see, the more I feel the need to speak. There has been a lot of discussion about a certain Olympian and decisions which were made. If that alone tells you who and what I'm referring to, great. If you're stumped, that's all right. I'm not going to give the details because frankly the actual event that is being discussed is not the issue. The real issue is the way people have responded to it. As a member of the Millennial Generation, I see a lot of talk from Boomers, Gen X, and a bit from the Greatest Generation about how we're destroying all things good that ever happened. For the most part, I choose to be the type of millennial who rolls my eyes and moves on with my day, because quite frankly I have better things to do than defend change...

  I think we can all agree that 2020 was a tough year! Now as we enter 2021, I'm sure many of us are setting goals for ourselves. And I am no different. Each year I like to pick a word to focus my goals around. This year my word is: Grow I want to grow healthier, grow spiritually, grow closer to my family, and grow professionally.  I chose the word grow because it's more than just literal growth. In fact, I'm pretty sure my literal growth stopped quite a while ago. Grow can mean learning from experiences, gaining new knowledge or talents, challenging ourselves in various ways. There are a lot of possibilities to grow. Especially after a year that was difficult and at times felt stagnant. As we got into December of 2020, I started thinking of what I wanted my word for 2021 to be. Honestly, I can't even remember what I chose for 2020 (sad author confession, I know). The word grow came almost immediately. Honestly, I think a lot of that is because growth is so essential to...