Winter Confidence

by Nancy Casey

After a couple of months of winter, it becomes apparent that there are quite a few things you are good at.

People who enjoy the snow and the cold often become good at sporty and fun activities, such as skiing and sledding or making snow people. Some of them are even good at laughing when they fall down and get snow down their backs.

You don’t have to love the winter conditions to be good at dealing with them, though. Shoveling snow, walking on ice, thawing frozen pipes, scraping off a car, and dressing for the cold aren’t known for their universal appeal. Many people are annoyed and inconvenienced by activities like these. At the very same time you can still be good at them.

Today, write about your winter skills. Think about the tasks and activities that winter brings into your life. Set aside all judgements about whether you like them or not and ask yourself which ones you approach with confidence.

With that question in mind, set up your page. As always, begin with a line at the top that will reserve a spot for your title. Then draw some kind of random shape in the middle of the page. Next draw some lines or curves that radiate out from that shape and reach the edge of the paper. Now your writing space is divided up into sections.

In each section, write something that begins, “It’s winter and I am good at…” Then tell something about one of your winter skills. As much as you can fit into that section. Then move on to another section and another skill.

You can always use one or more of the sections as a drawing or doodling space if you feel like it.

When all the sections are full, go back over your work. Make small changes if you need to. Add some color or decoration to the page if you haven’t already. When you are satisfied with the page, give it a title and write the date on it, too.

Here is an example of what someone could write.

You can share your work by posting it as a comment below. You can type it in, or take a photo of it and upload the image.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. She taught the Write-For-You writing class at the Recovery Center last summer and will return again in the spring. For more information about classes and writing certificates, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.