By Jessica Weber
As many may know, I have struggled with a disability since the age of 16. The disability affects my thinking and cognition, emotional regulation, and social circles including friendships and professional work.
With support and a great medical team, I have succeeded without any doubt. During this time of quarantine and COVID-19, I have found it extremely difficult to manage at times. Think of times when you are so stressed out from school or a project or other that you want to throw the computer out the window. I say that as I have had many “computer throwing” moments, but the Lord told me it was okay to send an email; I began to write.
My emails were not the best, nor were they optimal, but they came from my place of personal struggle to understand COVID and its place in our lives personally and professionally and as a state and as a nation-state, and as a family.
I am very grateful to CCC and those who have read my emails. I didn’t intend for these to be a call for help but the love at CCC looked at it as an opportunity to care and told me: you are loved; keep writing.
I don’t know why I chose the pen. A friend once told me: write for your life, and another mentor said: writing is a gift. I know the universal “WE” puts tons of emphasis on specific words and form and language, but if we look at words as a statement to understand and seek truth, we are always better off.
I grew up in a small family unit with divorced parents and wrote as a child. My dad was absent and my mom worked full time to support us as we were raised over the years, in part, by ten nannies. One nanny came here during the fall of the Soviet Union and enrolled in school and her only dream was to read War and Peace. In that, I learned the importance of words.
As I wonder how we can cope and heal and help in these emotive times, I am grateful to CCC, who not only said: you are loved and keep writing, but who never said don’t write.
Thank you, CCC for loving me deeply despite any imperfection.