Sabbatical Superbloom: What’s in a name?

I hiked in Huntington State Park with my family to get our legs moving again after Christmas. My mom, dad, sister and I brainstormed: What should I call my newsletter? 

Wander Woman? Jess’ Journeys? Wandering Wolverine? Sabbatical Fun-Times? Where in the World? … the ideas were rolling!

A name has the power to manifest. I wanted the name of my newsletter to express what I’m hoping to bring about in myself during this special period of reflection, exploration, rest, and rejuvenation I have designed for myself. Amidst numbers, analytics, presentations, and strategic thinking, business school has had a way to bury my ability to listen to my gut, my intuition, and my heart. I’ve started to reawaken my intuition to listen to what resonates. As we brainstormed names amidst the cadence of our footprints, I was waiting for something to feel right. How about…?

✨Sabbatical Superbloom✨

Yes. That’s it. Here’s why:

Sabbatical

I was in my sustainable food systems class daydreaming about my travels and thought - what if I learned more about regenerative agriculture in action? This lightbulb started a chain reaction. I chatted with Dr. Jennifer Blesh and we brainstormed volunteering on a farm, working at a food hub, shadowing the work at an international food distributor, and learning about supply chains that’ll be prominent in the products I will manage at Danone. With that, the gears were turning!

So, I decided to call it my sabbatical because a sabbatical is an extended time off that academics (and a few others lucky enough to work at companies with sabbaticals) get to rest, learn new skills, explore, do inner work, and/or write academic papers, books, etc. I have been in the working world for 7 years and then spent the past 3 in school so it feels like time for a sabbatical (though this one is self-funded rather than university/company funded).

What does a sabbatical mean to me (so far)?

This year I am participating in a new program at the University of Michigan called Management as a Calling program. Or “homework assignment” at the end of our first retreat was a draft Life Purpose statement. It was vulnerable to whittle down my purpose to a succinct sentence or two. My current draft is: I am the Director of New Ideas who does Good, explores wild space and the wilderness within, and grows deep roots. I build a more just, equitable and planet-friendly food system to benefit local and global communities.

The act of developing this has been powerful - positive but also scary because writing it down is the first step of accepting the responsibility of building my life purpose into reality. I see my Sabbatical as my first step along this path.

After my first newsletter edition, I know you may be eager to see what’s on my 2023 cookie. Ta- da! Check out that icing artwork. Here’s the key which I think you’ll recognize a lot from my life purpose.

• Lightbulb “sun” in the sky: Director of New Ideas who does Good

• Me walking along watching the Patagonia skyline at sunrise: Explores wild space

• The roots beneath me: Exploring the wilderness within

• The Colorado flag: Where I’ll be landing after my sabbatical and I’m excited to grow deep roots as I build my community and home in a place I’ve called home before.

Superbloom

Superblooms are a rare phenomenon in the desert with unusually rainy conditions followed by a cloudy spring to protect the soil from freezing at night and keeping the water from evaporating during high daytime temps. The desert also must remain undisturbed by strong winds while the seeds germinate. When all these phenomenons align ever 10-15 years, the dry, arid desert erupts into a stunning rainbow of wildflowers.(Footnote 1)

Over the past few years, I’ve built my confidence that I can be true to myself and practiced embodying what it means to be my best self. I’ve been growing intellectually, professionally, and found my calling. I’ve nurtured my intuition to follow what feels right. All of the positive forces in my life have been germinating what I hope to be an eruption of growth that is fueled by following my passions during my sabbatical.

Now I’ve caught you up on what was great in 2022 in Edition 1 and explained what’s in the name here in Edition 2, Edition 3 will be the start of the “regularly scheduled newsletter programming” posted at irregular intervals. Next time, I’m excited to key you into my first few weeks in Patagonia volunteering at a regenerative organic farm-to-table garden. With that, I’m off to wrap up my 36 54 (Footnote 2) hour trip to travel to the Southern Hemisphere with 4 planes, 1 red eye, 3 buses, and 2 hotels. 

Until next time,

The Wandering Wolverine

Credits

I realized I didn’t give any credits for my first edition - apologies! I’d like to thank the following people for their contributions:

First Edition:

• Photo credits: Dad, Maxime, Brennan, Karen & Bob, Jon, Kate, Ben and The random dude stoked to see 20+ young folks camping in 30 degree weather in Tahquamenon Falls

• Editing: Mom, Erica

Second Edition:

• Sabbatical Superbloom Art credits: Becca, Carolyn, flower artist

• Photo credits: Dad, myself

Footnotes

1. What is a Superbloom?, Mortonsonthemove.com.

2. A trip I planned to take 36 hours expanded to 54 when a delay due to plane maintenance meant I missed the second bus that only happens twice a day.