When I went to college, I joined a sorority. People who know me now are often surprised by this. “You don’t seem like the type,” they say. (The idea of a sorority “type” is…

If you follow She Dwells on Facebook, you may have read the story  of Trudy Smith. She’s a 102-year-old woman who took up painting at  85, after the death of her husband. Or the…

My son almost dropped out of college accidentally. By the time he met with his academic advisor during the spring semester of his first year, he’d already decided the university he was attending wasn’t…

I often joke that, as a professor, I started college in 1982 and liked it so much that I  just never left. The truth is a little more complex, but essentially it’s true: I…

Do you live in the same place where you were born, or where you spent most of your growing-up years?  As a culture, we have a reputation for being pioneers. Wanderers. Restless spirits ready…

Are you an introvert? If you need a healthy dose of quiet time every day and spend your weekends recharging at home in order to gear up for the work week, if you avoid…

I’ve been writing for about as long as I can remember. The first piece of writing for which I received praise was a poem titled “Leaves,” which I wrote in first grade. The opening…