LAST DAY to Order Windrose Magazine

Windrose is everything you (and I) could hope for in a magazine. It is a collection of real stories we can all relate to in some form or fashion. It’s for those currently in the throes of adulthood—facing new challenges, covering uncharted territory, grieving past phases—and learning to carve out a life all their own. It’s a unifying, uplifting work of words and art that continues to remind me of one very important thing: 

Despite my endless doubts and fears and insecurities, I’m not alone. 

And neither are you.

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LifeAlly WillisComment
The Reminder We All Need

As confident as I had been in my decision at the time, walking away from my glamorous magazine job—and along with it, my lifelong “dream” career—left an emotional scar that refused to heal, no matter how many times I told myself it was for the best. A year later, I was still feeling an incredible amount of doubt. Perhaps, even, a tinge of regret. And because I was scared of what people would think, I refrained from talking (or writing) about it.

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How to Create A Home

I was describing my new apartment to one of my coworkers when he said, quite poetically, "You have an apartment, but not a home." He was right—I was in the middle stages, in that I had a key, I had a lease, and there were half-opened suitcases scattered about my room, but I didn't have any furniture, I didn't have a bed, or even hangars.

I very much was in the process of creating a home.

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On Growth

Growth is slower and more subtle than I used to think it was. It doesn’t always look like milestones or hurdles jumped, and it’s hard to document. My journal pages from the last two years don’t look all that different from each other; there aren’t huge leaps made from one day to the next. But over the months, my voice reads a little happier. A little more hopeful for the future.

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You Are Not Alone (+ TODAY'S THE DAY!)

You, who are moving away from the place that has been home for the last four years and are afraid of finding community in your new city: you are not alone. You, who are applying endlessly to jobs, frustrated by applications that receive no response and interviews that get you nowhere: you are not alone.

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Ally WillisComment
The Importance of Daily Rhythms

Since graduating in May, I’ve felt tossed around more than a few times. I know what it is to let circumstances dictate the kind of friend I’ll be and the kind of day I’ll have. Things that feel urgent constantly rise up and demand my attention, from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed. For the past few months, nearly every day has looked different, and I hid behind my jobs to excuse myself from the hard work of discipline.

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The Fear of Ambition

For the postgraduate seeking to transgress or assume an affirmative stance on an issue of importance to her, resistance comes in the shape of familiar inquiries: How will that pay your bills? Who’s going to want to buy that? Do you really think you’re capable? These are questions adults use to keep one another in their respective places, and it makes sense. 

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The Point of Birthdays

I turned 24 on Tuesday.

My first instinct was to look at the people around me. The ones posting on social media.

They’d written books, were writing articles for magazines I still only dream will send me an acceptance letter one day. They’d started podcasts. Spent two years living in Asia. Found the loves of their lives. Wore diamond rings on the fourth finger of their left hands. Spoke at the United Nations. Worked in refugee camps around the world.

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Top 10 Most-Read Posts of 2017 (So Far)

Since we’re more than halfway through the year (is anyone else startled by this?), I thought it would be good to take a look back at some of the posts shared here within this li’l Internet space.

Here are the Top 10 Most-Read Posts of 2017 (So Far). Enjoy a look back!

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Ally WillisComment
7 Pieces of Advice for Grad School Students

The first year of graduate school for me was incredible, amazing, life-changing, and HARD. Transitioning straight into grad school from my four years of undergrad, I approached grad school as an opportunity to grow and learn on a personal level, while also growing in the classroom.  As my friends and former classmates were celebrating new jobs and new cities, I dove back into the books for a quick two more years.

Throughout my first year of graduate school, I learned a few things that will stay ingrained in me for many years to come.

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It's Okay To Be Imperfect

Even so, I’ve been surprised at the feeling of worthlessness that has come alongside this period of quiet. The questions in my mind of, what am I contributing to anybody? Am I allowed to still be “resting” or is this really just laziness now? Is everyone around me wondering what I’m doing with my time? Am I paranoid to be thinking like this? If I’m secure in my identity and my decisions about how to spend my time, where has this fear of worthlessness come from?

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