The Disenchanted City
The Disenchanted City

I had dreamed about going to Europe since I was eight years old.  I specifically have always wanted to go to Paris. This was a dream I held onto and when I was sixteen I made a master plan to spend a year in Europe once I turned eighteen. I did research and detailed the plan to my parents who said that if I met my monetary goal they would match it. But then I did not find anywhere that wanted to hire a sixteen-year old and so the plan was put aside. I still vowed that I would see Paris before I turned twenty-four.

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True StoriesJulia Nusbaumfeminism, Storytelling, europe, travel, parisComment
Seeking Self as a Lady Academic
Seeking Self as a Lady Academic

Waking up at 3am with the thought “I need to go to Divinity school” was quite surprising. It was a fairly humid early morning on May 20th. I stumbled out of bed to grab my laptop from my desk to see if I even had the option of enrolling for the fall. The deadline had been extended an extra 11 days. The spiritual side of my personality took this as a sign as I slowly guided my mouse down the page. I knew I wanted to stay in Nashville for the time being and I had no idea where I wanted to go with my life. Leaving the world of college athletics and entering into a period of spiritual reflection while working in a mind-body-soul shop lent me a return to my love of philosophical engagement.

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True StoriesJulia Nusbaumfeminism, Storytelling, GRE, religion, educationComment
About Damn Time
About Damn Time

My mother pushed herself to graduate high school in three years rather than four and was therefore able to start university studies at age 17. She'd been in love with a boy since she was 14, and she wanted to be at the university with him. Her father didn't approve of this boy (he suspected that the boy was of sub-standard ethnic stock, and he also knew that the boy's family was far less wealthy and educated than his own). Mom, with the support of her own mother, didn't obey her father's instructions not to see the boy; Mom said that from the first moment she saw him, she knew that he was the love of her life.

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True StoriesJulia Nusbaumfeminism, Storytelling, parents, family, fear, still born, life Comment
The Story of a Sketchy Road and Two Men I Met, Neither of Whom Raped Me
The Story of a Sketchy Road and Two Men I Met, Neither of Whom Raped Me

I had been in graduate school for over three years but hadn’t taken a night class. So when I started teaching Psych 280: Community Psychology from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm, it was very possibly the first time I had found myself walking alone at night across campus. For the first week, I followed my autopilot footsteps – the same path I walked home every single day.

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Miscellaneous StoriesJulia Nusbaumfeminism, Storytelling, safety, gender politics, fear Comments
When I Danced With a Wedding Crasher
When I Danced With a Wedding Crasher

Recently, my aunt met a good man and they got married. My family and I made the long trek down to Florida for the joyous event. We got to the hotel just hours before the rehearsal dinner and after a flurry of hurried preparation, we met with the family. As with most family reunions when you’re young, you tend to answer the same questions about your love life, college, and what your plans are for the future.

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True StoriesJulia Nusbaumfeminism, Storytelling, marriage, wedding, dancingComment
A Year of Storytelling
A Year of Storytelling

There is power in telling your own story.

It sounds silly. To tell someone that their life can change if only they tell their story. Don’t we already know our stories? We’re living them. We’re breathing our stories in and out every day. But are we really letting ourselves live into our stories? Are we stopping ourselves, looking back—reflecting—and wondering what it is that brought us to where we are in our lives today?

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True StoriesJulia Nusbaumfeminism, Storytelling, blog, beginningComment
Superhero Mom
Superhero Mom

In fifth grade, for Halloween, I wanted to dress up like my mom. 

In fact, I did.  But only for show her.  It was supposed to be a surprise, because I didn’t want to be a hippie for the third year in a row.  I remember sitting on my pink, blue, and green swirled comforter thinking that I wanted to dress up like someone I like.  I didn’t want to be just another witch or the fourth kid to have the brilliant idea to be the pink power ranger. 

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True StoriesJulia NusbaumStorytelling, feminism, mom, loveComment
Shine A Little Light
Shine A Little Light

You see, I was born into a system, a family, whose very history is fraught with the most insidious abuses; kept in the secret and in the dark.  When you come into a world like that, you lose your power and your voice before you can even walk.  Even as I took my first steps and learned my first words, how was I to know that a monster would step out of a closet and snuff out my life before it began?

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True StoriesJulia Nusbaumfeminism, Storytelling, black women, racism, white women, systematic oppression, white privilege Comment
Freedom: Life After Domestic Violence
Freedom: Life After Domestic Violence

Trigger Warning: Domestic Violence. 

 

I am a survivor of Domestic Violence. Even six months later, it seems surreal typing these words. It’s so easy to naively pretend that it could never happen to you—you’d never miss the red flags, you’d never let anyone treat you like property—but I am here to tell you that is not the case. It can happen to anyone, because abusers are the most charming people you’ve ever met. They’ll sweep you right off your feet, convince you that they have nothing but your best interests at heart, and, in the process, convince everyone close to you that they are “great” for you, too. By the time you realize what is happening, you’ll be so tired of swimming that you’re almost content to drown, because that’s your only way out. You’ll wake up one day and you won’t even recognize yourself anymore. At least, that’s how it happened for me.

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True StoriesJulia Nusbaumfeminism, Storytelling, violence, domestic violence, loveComment
Vocation and Family
Vocation and Family

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the intersection of vocation – or what I feel I am called to do, drawn to – and family life. I come from a large extended and loving Midwestern Catholic family. Figuring out what I am to do with my life and how I fit into my family is one part of what I’ve been thinking about. Biology of my female body is another. And here’s why:

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True StoriesJulia Nusbaumfeminism, Storytelling, family, vocationComment
The Dress: Revisited
The Dress: Revisited

My family and I don't always see eye-to-eye, and I don't think we're unique in that. I have the variety of family members that regularly go to church but stay out of politics and social issues in the public space, and I also have family members that never talk about their church community but sure as hell talk about the lack of God in this county. (And by "talk about," I mean that they share memes, quotes, and articles that are kitschy clickbait at their best and downright lies at their worst.)

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True StoriesJulia Nusbaumfeminism, Storytelling, the dress, neuroscienceComment
The Luxury of Being Able to Serve
The Luxury of Being Able to Serve

I wake up each morning with the luxury of a roof over my head, food in my refrigerator, and a shower with warm water. I walk to campus, where I take classes in the departments of English and Women and Gender Studies. I have the good fortune to be studying what I am passionate about, instead of working for a degree that I hate but one that will earn me the most money down the road.

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True StoriesJulia Nusbaumfeminism, Storytelling, serving, missionComment