Jordan Hawkins

It’s the longing in all of us, the feeling that causes us to stare out at the endless horizon standing at the ocean’s edge. The part of us that draws our gaze to the multi-layered masterpiece of a nearby mountain ridge. Those of us who are naturally nostalgic have an affinity for the history of things. The way something once made us feel, the memory a familiar song brings up, all moments and feelings that are part of our story. Nostalgia transcends the present and whisks us away, and it always creates a sense of longing to capture that feeling again. I am one of those people, drawn to familiar things that have framed my life’s surroundings. And yet, I’m continually looking

From retired “ladies who lunch” to LPGA professionals, women all across the world are taking to the courses and meeting on the tee to enjoy the bittersweet experience of golf. I say bittersweet because if you’ve picked up a club, you know what I mean. Swing after swing as beginners, we hack away at our grandpa’s backyard with an old pitching wedge. Some of us get lucky and actually learn how to make contact with the ball on some part of the club face. Others get frustrated right away and say, “Nope! This isn’t for me!” Regardless of whether you go pro or not, you will always find yourself frustrated with your game to some degree. Some days I can’t miss with

Back in the day of “blah, blah, blah,” women sometimes found a struggle when it came to discovering an appropriate and willing sounding board for their ideas, aspirations, advice, and so on. Now in the days of blogs, blogs, blogs, it can be difficult to discover the ones worth watching and following versus those that are still filled with mostly blah, blah, blah… I’ve become an avid “listener” online recently as I dive deeper into my digital marketing masters certification course, and have begun to follow—and weed-out—all sorts of content. I have become a loyalist to a few brands that I have found so inspirational that I simply must share them with you, as a fellow woman of grit and grace. Here

Foreword: One of fellow #gritandgracelife contributors recently wrote an article about why it is important to share your story. My 20s helped shape me into the woman I am now–a woman I am proud of, although I took some tumbles and falls and made hard choices to get here. So with that said, I’m sharing 10 lessons I learned in my 20s… Age 20: You can “go your own way…” As an undergraduate in my junior year at Appalachian State University, I was catapulted into my twenties with a new fervor for life. The first few years of my college experience gifted me many life-shaping experiences that helped mold me into the adult I was becoming. The road was a little messier than I had