Colleen Cook, Thrive Correspondent

There’s no questioning that this has been a difficult year. For some, this year has brought devastating losses of loved ones, jobs, plans and dreams. For all of us, the tumultuous intensity of the pandemic, civil unrest and toxic political climate has disrupted our status quo and has cast a heavy shadow of divisiveness and […]

Yesterday, I was served an article online about an acquaintance of mine who was being accused of doing something inappropriate. I don’t know the person well, but as I read it, my initial thought was that it was such an incomplete depiction of who this person is. Over the past few years, I have witnessed […]

Since March, I’ve often thought that I’ll reflect on the day that the governor shut down the schools due to the global pandemic much in the same way I remember the moment I was told that the planes hit the Twin Towers. That moment will be emblazoned into my mind: where I was, who I […]

It seems like every conversation I’ve had for months has eventually devolved into how much we’re all struggling with the unforeseen stress that 2020 has brought upon us. There are seemingly endless stressors contributing to a generally down, depressed and overwhelmed  feeling these days among nearly everyone.  Now and then I’ll be served an article […]

I filled a journal trying to decide whether or not to leave my last job for my current job. Up until that point, most things in my life came to a natural end. But, in the spring of 2018, it was my choice to make, and it was a challenge. I loved the company I […]

One of my favorite shows, “The Good Place,” had its series finale last year at the end of its fourth season. I watched every episode through to the end, which neatly buttoned up the storylines in a way that was satisfying and complete, a privilege for shows that get to choose when they end their […]

As I write this, I am absorbing the news that a childhood friend of mine is dying of cancer. Our families shared life together throughout my childhood. She was really my sister’s friend, as her older sister and I were a few weeks apart in age and she and my sister were about two months […]

Over the course of my time in my last job, I had three babies. It was an intense, exciting time and my employer was truly incredible about it all. Throughout those years, I was diligent to not let the cracks show as much as possible. In a time when working remotely was less common than […]

2013 was one of the most intense and incredible years of my life. Over the course of a year, I became a mother, a homeowner, I completed graduate school, and my husband and I each started new jobs. I discovered the Enneagram and Brené Brown, both of which taught me things that changed my worldview […]