Daphne Penn

Two handmade 5 oz coconut soy candles in a box with creme colored crinkle paper.

I’m super excited about my latest candle creation “Progress in Prose” for my new YCC Writing Focus Work Kit. Inspired by my cousin who loves peppermint and inspired me to embrace a journaling practice (it was a struggle!). I’m using this kit later this week during a writing retreat with friends!

The photo is a screenshot of a Houston Chronicle headline stating that women and Black staffers were disproportionately affected by the UT Austin DEI layoffs.

This headline was the entire point of the crusade against DEI:

I started reading Parable of the Sower again. I read it years ago and never stopped thinking about it. Octavia Butler was truly prophetic.

Duke ends full-ride scholarship program for select Black students in wake of affirmative action ruling The scholarship is named in honor of Reginaldo “Reggie” Howard, Duke’s first Black student government president who died in an automobile accident during his sophomore year in 1976.

So Duke is shutting down a legacy scholarship for Blacknstudents and the right admits they plan to win by silencing Black people

And not a thing is happening ing to stop it

t.co/ox8lUNhIFq

One of my book chapters touches on how the tendency for people in my research context to refer to all Latin American-origin people as “Mexican” contributes to feelings of marginalization among the newcomer community.

While discussing the data cleaning module, my new research assistant asked a great question about filler words and false starts in interview transcripts. I used the example below to discuss how pauses, false starts, self-corrections, and filler words can sometimes be a valuable source of data.

This image is a screenshot of the teachable modules to train RAs.

I'm teaching qual methods this semester and I couldn't be more excited. The course aligns w/my efforts to build my lab, which is now 5 members deep. My newest RA feels ready to dive in bc of the training modules I created. Eventually, I hope to share them with other qual PIs who need to onboard RAs.

Thank you Becca! I will check it out.

There isn't a time management system in the world that will save you if you aren't in tune with your own values, strengths, and eccentricities. You can’t design your life around someone else’s values (or at least you shouldn’t). It’s a recipe for disaster.

When it comes to Deep Work, your ‘how’ and ‘why’ might differ from mine. I encourage you to read the book and develop your own rules/approach to achieving focused success, tailored to your circumstances and values. As always, I’ll keep you posted on my progress and strategies.

Today marks the kickoff for my 3rd year of Deep Work for Focused Success. Again, I'm aiming for 750 hours dedicated to the work that brings meaning to my life. My goal is based on my life circumstances and desire to prioritize progress (since I have less control over outcomes).

Thank you, and I hope so 😊

Friendships are only sustainable if we allow them to evolve w/life circumstances. In recent years, I’ve embraced the evolution of many lifelong friendships w/ gratitude that they have remained strong through moves, marriage, the loss of loved ones, and now children. 3/3 #Thankful

Her relief was palpable when I interrupted an apology to say how excited I was to be on the new journey with her. I told her I didn’t expect things to look the same as when we were 13 or even 32, and that she only needed a sitter when SHE wanted adult time (not because of me). 2/

Two years ago, my childhood bestie became a mommy. After giving birth, I could sense that she felt guilty that, after 23 years of shenanigans, she couldn't show up in the same way. She would occasionally apologize, assuming that I was bothered that the dynamic had changed. 1/

In case you need to hear this: trust the narrative your brain has been telling you.

The one thing I absolutely did right was finding a therapist as soon as I moved. Everyone likely has difficulty with transitions, but I'm dealing with a dozen of them at once (move, new job, caregiving, family planning, and more). Starting my week with a session was a game changer.

If I could do it all over again, I definitely would have given myself 2 months (at a minimum). The 1st month would have been focused solely on nesting before I started thinking about campus life. I would have also restricted travel. When I did that in Sept, it definitely helped me get into a rhythm.

I moved to Nashville four weeks before the start of the semester. Traveling and COVID essentially ate up those weeks, so I never had a chance to actually settle in before classes started. This holiday break has been my first chance to breathe. I definitely needed this moment to exhale.

Although I reduced hours spent on course prep, it wasn't until this weekend that I realized how much mental space teaching had been occupying. With no class this week, I finally had the mental bandwidth to start thinking about and actively transforming my house into a home.

Same to you, sis. 🩷💚

This is also my reality. That feeling has been super intense this year as I’ve helped my dad recover from multiple strokes and become his financial caretaker. Whew chile is all I can say.

That sounds intriguing. I might take you up on that.

It takes sooooo much time. With that said, listening back to my interviews always brought a smile to my face. The recordings often reminded me of the stakes and my responsibility to do right by the people who trusted me with their stories.

This semester (and life in general) has been so wild that I didn’t know there was a new season of Survivor. It is the only show on TV that I watch live, and was my primary motivation for taking adult swim lessons (so that I can compete one day). Now I’m thankful that I have something to binge watch.

I am knee-deep in reviewing interview transcripts - like, listening to the recordings and copy-editing but also LISTENING - and I have to say, this work is unbelievably time consuming but also, I am so lucky to get to hear these voices.

Community Research and Action (Ph.D.) Interested in community psychology, community development, social program evaluation, organizational change, health or mental health policy, prevention, urban change and social policy? Join an intelle...

For students in the final push of prepping grad school apps, I will be accepting a doctoral student to join me in the fall of 2024! If you want training in youth critical consciousness development, critical theory, and longitudinal methodology, apply! peabody.vanderbilt.edu/academics/ph...

Haha! You got me. I shared it with my students and colleagues 😉

I've decided that I'll work for 30 more minutes and then reward myself by taking the rest of the month off. I deserve it! ☺️

The picture features a basket full of candy.

If no one comes to my house tonight, I’m going to be so MAD at myself for eating all this candy.