Like most of us I enjoy hearing a clever tip or listening to a great story. But here is where the problem begins – where my constructive compulsion begins. I often take this new-found information, become temporarily absorbed in it and end up incorporating parts of it into my life. I just can’t help it. But regardless of what it is or how much I adopt, it always stems from a relationship. From brain science to snack foods, I’m easily intrigued.

My fascination with how our brain works was sparked by a bit of cool-kid awe. A friend of mine sent me an article about neuroscience following a conversation I can’t quite recall anymore. What I do recall was that I couldn’t believe that this intellectually cool, highly successful woman would want to be chitchat buddies with me! Having spent enough solo lunches in the computer lab during middle school, I’m still a little surprised when folks want to be friends. To be honest reading the lengthy piece made me blurry-eyed, but what I learned about the brain blew my mind. Several TED talks and NPR pieces later, I was able to hold a conversation about neuroplasticity with two old friends, both PhD candidates in the cognitive sciences. It was bliss. Self adulation aside, I’ve also seen how loved ones have overcome hurdles by applying the latest findings on how to re-map their thoughts. It’s a hopeful study indeed.

I belong to a family of grazers – none of us can handle going a couple hours without eating something. I think my coworkers call it being hangry – whatever it is, we like to avoid it. We have a preschooler and a toddler so I am always hunting for more diverse and nutrition dense snacks. One Monday morning on my trip past the front desk to the kitchen to get a coffee, a dear colleague stopped me to try some kale chips she had made while we caught up on the past weekend’s events. The explosion in my mouth of crunchy, salty super-food had me hooked. She shared the recipe with me and now my family has a new favorite snack and I have a new go-to foodie blog that sends me brilliant ideas weekly.

So many people around us have so much to teach us about so very many things. I will keep listening, and learning, and look forward to sharing here on Niche Envy.

Disclaimer: there are some happy realities about my demographic that will inevitably keep these posts infrequent. Between my lovely two little girls and my husband [read: best friend], work and quotidian life … we’ll see what I’ll actually be able to post. My writing is rusty and likely interesting to only a few, but I’m excited about it! I think that gets a gold star for effort, right?