Becoming My Own Lucky Charm (Issue #45)
This week’s theme is luck, especially the kind we create for ourselves and the people around us.
Hi friends!
When I went to school at the University of Minnesota, there was a white squirrel who lived on campus. He was the white whale of good luck. Rumors swirled, with the promise of good fortune for anyone who ventured across him.
At the time, I was a big lover of good luck charms. And since it’s just you and me, I’ll admit that I even had a twice-daily alarm to remind me to wish on every 11:11. But this white squirrel always seemed out of my reach. That is until one day, in the late Fall of my freshman year, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a brilliant flash of white. I turned to see what it could be, and behold: there was Mr. Lucky White Squirrel himself. His piercing, beady eyes stared directly into my soul, no doubt imbuing me with magic. Eventually, he turned away, the good luck transfer complete, scampering off to do whatever it is that squirrels do.
I nearly screamed with joy. Everything was coming up Celisia!
I’d spent the Fall and Winter of that year coaching debate at my old high school. It meant me and my now-husband, Andrew, would take the long bus ride from Minneapolis out to the ‘burbs together for practice. At the time I was living in this excruciating limbo space of “we are nothing more than best friends but DEAR GOD I’ve caught feelings???”, so our twice-weekly bus rides were certainly a highlight.
On the day of the squirrel, I excitedly shared my lucky news with Andrew on our usual walk to the bus (no doubt paired with a flirty giggle and cheeky smirk). “Congratulations!!” he responded. Later, while killing time before practice, he handed me a crisp $5 bill. “What??” I said, confused. “It’s your lucky day!” he quipped. After debate, he brought me to Walgreens and continued my streak of good luck by gifting me a pack of chocolate chip cookies.
What I love about this story (aside from the friends-to-lovers rom-com undertones), is how Andrew helped create my luck out of thin air. The luck, it turned out, had been there all along – showing itself through a strong community and exceptional friends. Turns out, I never needed the squirrel after all. 😉
For today’s issue (in partial honor of St. Patrick’s Day), the theme is luck – the random and the intentional. Enjoy!
A round-up of things to watch, read, and listen to as you head into the weekend.
BBC: Mouse filmed tidying up man's shed every night By Charlie Buckland
On the topic of lucky animals, meet Welsh Tidy Mouse, who was caught cleaning a man’s shed via night vision camera. The video is incredible, and I’m just so in love with this whole story.
Substack: So you wanna de-bog yourself from
- ’s writing here is exceptional. It’s a thoughtful reflection on how we hold ourselves back and how being mindful of these instances where we’re metaphorically “stuck in the bog” is often the first step toward a happier, more fulfilling life. Highly recommend!
The New Yorker: The Tortured Bond of Alice Sebold and the Man Wrongfuly Convicted of Her Rape by Rachel Aviv
You might know of Alice Sebold from her hit novel The Lovely Bones, but her debut work was her memoir, Lucky. This book tells the story of a sexual assault she experienced during college, and her journey to hold her attacker responsible. Only problem? Through a series of legal missteps and misidentification, they’d sent the wrong man to prison. The linked article came out shortly after Anthony Broadwater (the man who was wrongfully convicted) was exonerated, and is an excellent recap of the story. I also made a TikTok series about this case a few years ago, so make sure to check that out as well (watch part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, and part 4 here).
Featuring someone I’m obsessed with (talking about what they’re obsessed with).
Monica Hay is a writing coach who specializes in helping writers overcome resistance such as procrastination and perfectionism. Monica has her Master's in Publishing and often calls herself a "recovering academic." She's worked for two different literary agencies & was the Director's Assistant for Write On Con, an online children's writers conference. Monica's passion for working with writers led her to host The Overcome Writer's Resistance Bootcamp, a 5-day online course to help writers overcome resistance so they can finally write their book. She's an advocate for neurodiversity & calls herself "unapologetically woo woo."
I first met Monica when I enrolled in The Overcome Writer’s Resistance Bootcamp last year, and loved it! I really learned so much, and it helped pull me out of a pretty intense writing rut. She’s an incredible coach, and I so admire her holistic approach to creating meaningful work. I’m also really excited because the next round of Monica’s bootcamp starts March 22nd, and she’s offering an exclusive discount to Sincerely, Celisia Subscribers! Check out the boot camp here, and use code SOOBSESSED for $10 off!!
You can subscribe to her newsletter here, and check out her Instagram here.
Now for Monica’s recommendations!
As an ADHDer, I find that I need a lot of help stopping myself from scrolling and grabbing my phone. I tend to gravitate toward it in the morning, and even if I put it away from me I'll still want to get up and scroll. This all changed when I got a phone lock! Now I can "lock" my phone & have a lot more peace and ease in my life. It may sound ridiculous, but it's a game changer for me and so many others with a phone addiction.
Self Compassion.
I'd heard about self-compassion in therapy forever, and I finally learned more about it. I preach self-compassion in my courses because it's so incredibly important, and a lot of people don't really know what it means. If you'd like to create a kinder inner voice & a better mindset to live your life with, I recommend checking out the book *Self Compassion by Doctor Kristin Neff. The audiobook is extremely well done, and I often find myself using the narrator's voice in my head when I'm practicing self-kindness.
This visual of how habits become part of us.
When creating habits, I always remind people that in the first several months, it'll feel new and a bit difficult. Over time, it becomes easier and easier, until it becomes part of you. The trick is to keep going when it's hard (but not in an unsustainable way).
She's currently working on The Write Type, an enneagram course for writers that will cover a broad introduction to the enneagram to understand more about each type and how it can be used for writing - both in character development and in how they can harness it to understand themselves and how it shows up in their process and craft. To get on her newsletter and hear updates about it, click here.
Things to try + share in the group chat.
Note: Links preceded by an asterisk (*) are affiliate links that allow me to collect a small commission when you purchase something I’ve recommended. That said, I can promise I’ll only ever share items I love. Buying through these links is one way to support me and my small biz. ❤️
I’m really excited to check out *The Rachel Incident, a book that follows a young Irish woman as she navigates love, relationships, and the complicated journey that is finding yourself in young adulthood. It’s the perfect Irish read to kick off your St. Patty’s Day Weekend!
I’d been debating trying Factor for weeks when I stumbled upon the below TikTok and was sold immediately. I’ve since ordered several boxes, and feel confident sharing that they’re by far the best pre-prepared meals I’ve ever had! They’re the perfect option for a quick, healthy, and relatively affordable meal during a busy week.
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I can’t have plants in my house because my cat will eat them, but I’m still obsessed with the idea of owning an easyplant. They exclusively sell self-watering plants, the perfect lazy-girl solution for anyone (like me) with no green thumb to speak of. The plants come in a variety of size options and are the perfect low-maintenance way to add more vibrance to your home decor.
I’m a bit of a “mood watcher” and often choose what to watch based on a target occasion, emotion, or general vibe. And from that realization, this list was born. Rather than just giving recommendations on what to watch based solely on taste, I wanted to give recommendations for a variety of hyper-specific movie-watching moods. Check it out here!
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