3/11/20 would have been Joan “Grandy” Leader’s 84th birthday here on Earth…

where we celebrate her with the signs she tosses at us every single day ( 🦩), and carry on her legacy according to her design.

Yes, as you might imagine, she did leave us (all) another lifetime full of reading — journals, notes, prompts, greeting inside book covers. And in doing so, she gave us a full content stream to share with you, our peeps, for a long time coming.

So, whether Journaling with Grandy was your favorite regular Campowerment activity or something you wish you had gotten a chance to do: we have a great excuse for Grandy to inspire you to pick up that pen…today.

Inspired by this note (particularly #1), a bit messy, as she jotted it in her final days (on her CIA: Citizens in the Arts notepad!):

pen ready? prompt here:

Just for today, forget what everybody else thinks about you. Put away the perception you think others have of who you are and how you roll.

Write the story of your life from exactly where you are now, in YOUR voice…

not where you’ve been, or where you think you’re going.

Don’t start with a story arc; simply start with the date and let the words flow. Think they sound great? Great; keep going. Think they sound lame? Fine; keep going.

Take 10-15 minutes to write your story, the way you want it to be told, for you and by you.

At the end of 15 minutes, reread it in full — the first time, silencing your self-judgment, muting any reactions you have at all. The second time, allowing yourself to make edits if you so choose, to think about WHY you chose to share the details you did. If you’d like to share with anyone, send it our way 😉

Thanks for playing! And Grandy: thanks for making sure your ideas had long legs that would extend beyond your time here! We love you.