Letter 65: Bringing a Free Spirit Mentality into Work, Relationships, and Life
When we take big risks and have little tolerance for misery ~ Limitless Women Series #5, Jocelyn
Welcome to The Learning Curve, a weekly newsletter to share our understandings, joys, and learnings through personal narrative. Our writers span many generations, cultures, identities, and ethnicities.
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Before we begin this week’s letter, we feel we must share that our hearts and prayers are with the family of Eliza Fletcher and the community of Memphis, of which Molly and Mary Alexander (MA) Satterfield are a part. Next week’s letter will focus on Liza’s legacy and tangible ways we can support those who were impacted by her life, including her husband and two sons. For up-to-date information on community events, please follow MA on Instagram. 🤍
Happy first Wednesday of September!
We are thrilled you are here for the final installment of our Limitless Women series. You can see the earlier sections here:
Part One: Sam showed that our younger generation will lead us well.
Part Two: Ruthy shared about community and where we place our value.
Part Three: Ashley opened up about vulnerability and growth.
Part Four: Nadine offered her perspective on family, beliefs, and hertiage.
And now, I am so happy to welcome Jocelyn for our final series installment. I had the good fortune of meeting Jocelyn through a mutual friend a few months ago, as we share similar interests, goals, and golden retrievers. Jocelyn is warm and sharp as a tack, putting her imprint on greater Fort Worth with One to Know magazine, which celebrates women who are making an impact on our city. I’m honored to share part of her journey toward a rich, fulfilled life with you today. —Emily
I would love to hear about your work as the Executive Editor of One to Know magazine. I feel like being a magazine editor is a dream job! What led you here, and what are your guiding motivations for a publication that uplifts and affirms inspiring women in Fort Worth?
It is a lot of work, but I love it so much it hardly ever feels like work. It all started with my love for nonfiction storytelling, which began just as I was finishing a degree in philosophy with a concentration in the humanities (mostly literature and history). Studying ancient ideologies, tragedies, and comedies, I realized how timeless human nature is and felt less alone in my own life experiences. What would be a good, modern-day equivalent to this? Because I want to do that when I grow up. Journalism. I wanted to tell stories in a way that connected people and communities, so I moved back home and took my first journalism course at a local college. Within a few months, I was applying for a master’s degree in journalism, interning and freelancing with area news organizations. I have been telling nonfiction stories for 16 years. In 2009, I returned home and would soon return the writing love—I started teaching news writing courses at area colleges while freelance writing. I have also been speaking at universities and conferences about my narrative approach to the news-writing craft.
In February 2021, Adrienne Martinez emailed me that she wanted to launch a women’s magazine but needed editorial help. She didn’t want it to be about fashion, makeup, or dating. I was intrigued. She has asked around and my name came up as someone who would be good at this type of work. I had been working full-time as a college journalism instructor and student media adviser since 2018 while raising a little boy. I had little free time, but I was teaching remotely (COVID-19) and met with her weekly in a video chat to give her advice on building strong narrative content. I soon fell in love with the project and my dream to lead an editorial team in my unique approach to news storytelling and magazine writing started to become real. We now publish women’s stories, essays, and short stories to uplift others in our community because, in my experience, stories change lives and make the world go around. I have since built an incredible team of contributing writers and illustrators. I brainstorm and workshop story ideas, collaborate with illustrators, mentor women in writing, and produce a magazine every other month. It is a dream job! Especially when I get feedback from readers.
You and I have talked about your experience as a single mom. Motherhood itself comes with many sacrifices, and I know that you have made career decisions based on what is best for you and your son rather than following a traditional career trajectory. How do you know when a role/position/industry is the right—or wrong—fit for your family, and how did you make those decisions?
I have always been called a free spirit, but I never knew what that meant until I asked someone recently (I thought it meant someone who wears flowers in their hair and dances in the rain). But they said it is someone who follows their heart and doesn’t so easily adhere to conventions or societal expectations, especially if they hinder joy. So I bring that free spirit mentality into work, relationships, and life. This means I take big risks and have little tolerance for misery. They say you can’t negotiate if you’re not willing to walk away, and misery is a non-negotiable for me. A few months after my divorce was final, I got a job offer to be a full-time faculty journalism instructor. It was rough with the commute and insane hours, and the demands of the job left my life unmanageable and unlived most days. My middle-aged white male boss was often not compassionate about my needs, and when he verbalized that in the most obtuse way last fall, I put in my notice. I was already running the magazine, which had just launched two months prior. My son needed me home more than I was. And I needed to be with him more. It is not that I wanted to work less, but to be able to work whenever I wanted. I needed flexibility and often worked weekends when he was at football practice with his dad, or after he goes to bed at night. And I wanted to live my own life again and go back to work on what I had been teaching from the sidelines. The corporate world is not set up for single moms. The magazine couldn’t promise me a comfortable salary, but the price I paid in financial security was worth the abundance I have gained in meaningful and purposeful work mentoring writers and crafting stories that connect women and spending time with my son.
Fort Worth is a special place that is full of inspiring women, including you! Where do you go to continue to be inspired?
I love cappuccinos. I think from my study abroad time in Rome, Italy in college created this obsession for finding the perfect cappuccino and café to drink it in. So I go to the Modern Art Museum (recently to absorb the Women Painting Women exhibition) almost weekly for a walk-through and a cappuccino from their café. That Tadao Ando-designed building and reflecting pool inspire me every time. Or you will find me on the Kimbell Art Museum lawn in the fall eating pie or quiche from their restaurant or perusing the Amon Carter. I covered architecture for a while as a freelance writer, and during that time learned that this trifecta of beautiful jewel-box museums we have in Fort Worth all within walking distance of each other made by world-renowned architects like Phillip Johnson and Louis Kahn are truly inspiring.
You just recently traveled to Colombia! What is one part of the trip that still stands out to you? What makes it so memorable?
My son went to sleep away camp for a few weeks, so I went with my boyfriend who is from there. He had not been back home for that long since he moved away in 2009. On my first night there I started crying because I was overwhelmed with joy. We were at this famous dance club in Bogota, and everyone was so happy there and danced so freely. Even an entire team of waiters started dancing in unison to “Titi Me Pregunto” by Bad Bunny. Bodies of all shapes in nonconforming clothes moved as they pleased all night. See, I grew up in a very WASPy family in Fort Worth where pantyhose reigned, and dancing was only something very drunk (or drugged) people might attempt when overserved at a wedding. For this reason, I was scared to try my hand at dancing, but my love was so patient with me. When we did, I couldn’t stop smiling. We spent weeks traveling all over Colombia—Bogota, Cali, Cartagena, and my favorite, Villa de Leyva. To have the man I love so dearly share his favorite parts of this beautiful country that raised him had me over the moon. It was the ultimate love letter.
I love that you are a local art collector. What draws you to a piece and how do you decide on the next piece for your collection?
It must pull me in and draw some inexplicable emotion out of me. And it usually takes me to a happy place, whether that’s real, surreal, or unreal. The next piece is left to the fate of the gods. Like most things in my life, I don’t really plan for what happens next. Any plans give into my illusion that I have control. I just see what moves me to the level of acquiring it, and then consider where I can put it in my house. I love fall gallery night and usually see things I love.
Rapid-Fire Questions with Jocelyn
Favorite guilty pleasure?
Hallmark Movies. (Gah, I can’t believe I just said that!)
What does success mean to you?
Abundance in meaningful work.
Favorite recent read:
Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love and the Hidden Order of Life by LuLu Miller
Favorite podcast/book/magazine right now:
Podcast: Unexplainable
Book: Circe by Madeline Miller
Magazine: The New York Times Magazine
Favorite local spot?
The Holly Natural Wine Bar — it has lots of natural light and good vibes.
You have a day all to yourself, what do you do?
I walk the streets of Brooklyn with my boyfriend where he lives most of the time. Or wherever we are in the world on any given week.
Thank you, Jocelyn!
P.S. Understanding one’s impact, turning a morning routine into a small business, and changing directions.