Laura Smith Writer

Category: Nonfiction

  • Decorating the Hallway

    When one door closes, another door opens, so they say. That in between time, the transition period is often alluded to as the hallway. I have been in the hallway for a few years now, picking up temporary jobs here and there and obtaining my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, I have come to think of…

  • Coming Back to the Beginning

    I started this blog in May of 2009, and at the point I had let go of a full time job to head back to school. I was fumbling, wishing to write, completely terrified of what the future might bring, and clueless as to how I would support myself and make it to graduation. My first…

  • Creating a Spiritual Practice

    Creating a spiritual practice is much like painting a masterpiece. You sit down at the canvas and just pick up the brush. Where do you begin? First some colors must be gathered, mixed, prepared…then maybe just maybe you feel as if you should start painting with cerulean blue. Just take a dab of paint at…

  • Running Downhill

    Uphill takes forever and no matter which direction I run, there always seems to be more up hills than down. Why? I guess because we take longer to run uphill. Downhill I speed up and it is over quickly. Same with life, the harder hills seem to take forever, but once you crest you can…

  • Skinny?

    I was called skinny the other day. As someone who has always struggled with weight I wasn’t sure whether to be happy or frustrated by a so-called compliment. I finally settled on frustrated. I have lost 20 pounds, but have worked my butt off by running and weight lifting. I have gained muscle mass. I…

  • When Life Hands You Lemons…

    Make lemonade, they say. I think that I am about to disagree. In order to make lemonade one must add sugar, lots of sugar. Sugar rots your teeth. Instead, why not make a new drink altogether? After all, lemonade is over rated. As some may know I have been actively looking for a full time…

  • Letting Go

    Letting go, a very hard thing for me to do, be it letting go of a person, an outcome, money, time, or food. I tend to keep my fingers shut in a childish way. And some of the things I hold onto are quite silly: my drawer full of milk chocolate after being vegan for…

  • The Straw That Broke The Camel's Back

    The phrase derives from an Arab proverb, a cataclysmic event cause by something inconsequential. This saying has also lead to the phrase, “the last straw.” Aside from the animal cruelty aspect, which is slightly disturbing, it is great wisdom. So many times we traverse difficult roads, I know I have, deaths, divorce, fire, debt, unemployment,…