Welcome. 

The first few years I had this blog, it was called “Emergent,” because, well, I thought there was something horribly vain about using my name as branding. And if I’m truly honest, I’m still uncomfortable with the practice of personal branding. It’s all the rage nowadays in our era of scrappy DIY social media marketing, but it still feels greasy and desperate. Like keeping business cards with photoshopped headshots in your wallet. Or panhandlers standing on the sides of virtual boulevards proffering Sharpied Notice me!s.

Emergent was a slippery word that allowed me to paint myself as more elegant than I am and to hide behind a conveniently vague idea. We’re all in states of superposition — both becoming something and already being at the same time. It is only when we are observed (when we reveal ourselves) that our positions can be identified. And criticized.

I did not want to be associated with thoughts or ideas that I might later want to change. That idea still terrifies me to some degree.

But settling well into my thirties and scuffling with my more unhelpful thought patterns this year has taught me that it is ok to not be perfect. I can put my own name on my blog, and people may read something they may disagree with or think is trite or badly written. It’ll all be ok, even if they do.

12.27.21

Old Description:

The ideas you encounter here represent an expedition into what it means to live gracefully. The name of this project, "Emergent," is a recognition that objects, people, and ideas reside in a constant state of becoming. Thinkers from the past will help inform this investigation, as well as those luminaries who seek the edge of what is possible in our current moment. 

It is my hope that what you find here provokes, encourages, and inspires as you make your way through the world.  

Meet Leah.

I'm a writer and marketing professional from Dallas, Texas. I hold an M.F.A. in Fiction Writing from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a B.A. in Creative Writing from Pepperdine University. I occupy my days searching for better ways to love people, serve God, and create beauty. I fail more often than I succeed, but am learning to bless the dust that kicks up when I fall. Our messiness leaves marks that others find meaningful. 

“The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things.” 
― Rainer Maria Rilke