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Marisa Russello

Writer & Mental Health Advocate

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marisarussellowrites

You caught me red-handed... I was stealing your h You caught me red-handed...

I was stealing your heart again, @jrussoteacher ! 

I met my amazing husband, Justin, 10 years ago today. We chatted online for two months before meeting in-person. Initially, I blew him off to date someone else. (Justin was wearing this weird hat in his profile picture. Apparently it’s called a Fedora? Well, he looked like a 1950s detective.) 

The other guy wasn’t a match, but that made me available to meet up with Justin. On our first date, we met at a Starbucks near Manhattan’s Columbus Circle. He didn’t wear the Fedora, so that was a step in the right direction. We ended up spending the whole day together, wandering through Central Park. After dinner, Justin walked me 48 blocks to my apartment and didn’t even come in! 

Now it’s 10 years later, and somehow we’ve put up with each other all that time. 

Would you like to know our secrets to a happy marriage? Obviously, they could be different for different people, but I thought that might make a good series to share. Let me know what you think.
I'm freezing my butterfly out here!!!  🦋 Ice I'm freezing my butterfly out here!!!  🦋

Ice seems to give things a fragility that makes them incredibly beautiful, almost magical. 

...But I miss the sun. I'm a summer person. Are you ready for spring or still loving the snow? 

[Image Description: Photo of a frosty rock garden in winter with a decorative green and blue butterfly frozen in the foreground. The next three photos are of various plants or trees in my yard covered in frost. I don't know what they are!]
One of the perks of being married to a teacher. I One of the perks of being married to a teacher. I get presents too! 

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day. I'm going to wear my red beaded necklace and eat all the chocolate we got now. 

How was your Valentine's Day? Do you celebrate the holiday or think it's silly? 

[Image Description: Photo of a Post-It note that says "For your wife" in a child's handwriting, which is on top of a pink, handmade Valentine's card and next to a heart-covered mechanical pencil, a red, heart-shaped stress ball with a smiley face, and a red beaded necklace. A small vase of white flowers sits beside everything.]
"Courage is not an absence of fear. Courage is fea "Courage is not an absence of fear. Courage is fear walking." - Susan David 

My biggest fears are: 1) Getting pregnant and passing on my mental health conditions; 2) Having severe injuries in a car accident but living; 3) People I love dying; 4) Being average my entire life; 5) Losing control. 

Do you share any of my fears? Are yours totally different? Do you think my dog is cute? 

[Image Description: Photo of my dog Goshen (who passed away last October) on a walk. He is wearing a red, white, and blue superhero costume with a silver cape flying into the air.]
I finished the first draft of my book and I cried. I finished the first draft of my book and I cried.

This story has been tangled up in my mind for three years. Starting to write was like taking in a deep breath, but I haven't been able to release it since. Finishing that last scene, my body let go of all the tension it was holding. My thoughts have space to breathe again. 

With 90,000 words done, I feel energized and ready for the next step: revision. 

What's your best advice for writing a second draft? I could definitely use some tips!
WILL YOU VOTE FOR ME?? My t-shirt design was sele WILL YOU VOTE FOR ME??

My t-shirt design was selected as a finalist in the contest for the virtual AWP conference this year!

If you're an AWP member or attending the conference, I'd love if you would consider voting for my design. 

Link in my bio. 
https://bit.ly/2XFG2Pj

Image Description: Picture of the earth with AWP21 in the center and lots of electronic devices (phones, tablets, computers) linking to it from different continents.
Outside my back door, fiery skies swirl in the dis Outside my back door, fiery skies swirl in the distance.

What are you up to tonight?

I went for a walk around the neighborhood this evening. I'm thinking I need to buy one of those reflective vests with all the hills and curves in the road here.
If you respond by doing nothing, you're making a c If you respond by doing nothing, you're making a choice. 

We often forget that our voices are powerful and that a chorus of voices can change the world. Yet we remain silent. 

Use your power. 

Maybe you think you can't do enough, but change can come from something as simple as a conversation. 

Maybe you're anxious about having to discuss difficult topics and worried you might make a mistake. Get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. Nothing changes if no one takes a risk. 

Maybe you think somebody else will step up, but what if everyone thinks that? If you feel like someone should do something, that someone is you. 

Some accounts that inspire & inform me: 
🔥 @i_weigh 
💥 @soyouwanttotalkabout
🔥 @prisonpolicy 
💥 @dearasianyouth 
🔥 @_illuminatives 
💥 @antiracismdaily 
🔥 @trevorproject
💥 @amypoehlersmartgirls
🔥 @lgbt_history 
💥 @attnwhitepeople
🔥 @womensmarch
💥 @blklivesmatter
🔥 @usowomen

Who else should I be following?
Guess who got her COVID-19 vaccine today? It's ME Guess who got her COVID-19 vaccine today?

It's ME!!!

Who else can't wait to get theirs? 

2021 is looking better already. What do you think? 

Image Description: Photo of my shoulder with a bandaid where the vaccine was injected.
2020 summed up in a photo. Thanks for the inspira 2020 summed up in a photo.

Thanks for the inspiration @kerrywashington! 

How was your 2020?

#ByteMe2020
Here's an #InstagramElfie of me for Christmas. H Here's an #InstagramElfie of me for Christmas. 

Happy Holidays, everyone!
Pictured here working on my first writing piece, " Pictured here working on my first writing piece, "Lesson Learned: Don't Drink Bubbles." 

Yes, I drank a full bottle of bubbles and lived to tell the tale.

Perhaps I was born to be a writer... 

What were you born to do? Have you always wanted to work in the career you have now?
Remember that time I wrapped everything on your de Remember that time I wrapped everything on your desk, @tcodee? Best Secret Santa ever. 

What was your favorite Secret Santa or holiday gift from a co-worker or friend?
Ask yourself: am I doing my best? If the answer is Ask yourself: am I doing my best? If the answer is yes, cut yourself some slack. 

That message is for me and for anyone else who needs it. 

Some days are harder than others. On days like today, all I'll do is get out of bed, post this, and take a walk. That's my best. A few days ago my best was just making it through the day. The only way I could do that was by bingeing nonstop on trashy TV. That's okay. I don't have to be constantly perfect, achieving greatness every day. I'm human, and even small accomplishments are still meaningful. 

What's your best today? 

[Image Description: Text that says, "You are one person and you are doing your best" on a pink background.]
What do the words "best friend" mean to you? I u What do the words "best friend" mean to you? 

I usually don't call people my "best" friend anymore. As an adult, I thought it sounded a little childish and immature. That is, until my childhood best friend died this week. Her name will forever be etched in my heart with BFFAEAE. That's what we used to write: Best Friends Forever And Ever And Ever. 

For me, Karen was everything: the  person who created a secret language with me (including code names for when we had to poop and if it was an emergency or not), the person who danced with me when I randomly burst into song, the person who woke up at 2 a.m. without complaint and walked half a mile with me to the bathroom at sleepaway camp, the person who spent hours teaching me how to fix my crooked smile, the person who honked and beeped at other students with me in the hallways, the person who wrote 4 full pages in my yearbook and had a million nicknames for me, the person who practiced kissing with me when no one would date us, the person I shared my first drink with as a teenager and so many other firsts, the person I could go on and on about...

Tell me about your best friend. Or what qualities would you seek in a best friend?
"Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?" Why "Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?"

Why not a cup of sugar or an egg? Our neighbors always ask to borrow the weirdest shit when they knock on our door.

Kidding. He asked if we had any extra carrots. I think he was making a salad. 

I actually don't know many of our neighbors that well. Since we moved here during the pandemic, no one stopped by to welcome us. My husband and I did mail a short letter to the houses on our block to introduce ourselves, but only a few families responded. 

I take walks outside pretty frequently and wave to anyone I see, but we haven't gotten to know our neighbors and that makes me sad. Before moving here into our first house, I imagined us having people over for game nights, going to BBQs, and having block parties on our quiet street. I didn't think I'd feel lonely and isolated, almost like I don't belong in my own neighborhood. I hope that changes someday. 

How do you like your neighborhood? Do you know your neighbors and hang out with them? Do they ever ask to borrow weird shit from you?
The version of Thanksgiving we hear is more myth t The version of Thanksgiving we hear is more myth than reality, omitting details and conflicting evidence and ignoring the violence and efforts to take land from Native Americans by any means necessary. In place of this day, some recognize the National Day of Mourning, honoring Native ancestors and their struggle to survive. 

Whose land are YOU living on? 

Repost from @usowomen: 
@_illuminatives has a few suggestions for how to honor Native Americans this #Thanksgiving and beyond. To find out whose ancestral lands you are living on, go to native-land.ca or text your city and state to 907-312-5085. 

[Image Description: Create new traditions this week. 
- Say goodbye to harmful Thanksgiving myths that erase the devastation of colonization on Native peoples.
- Learn about the true history of Native peoples and their contributions.
- Acknowledge the traditional Indigenous lands you are on. 
- Be a good ally to Native peoples by learning about and supporting Native issues and organizations.] 

Image: @_illuminatives
We're married. Can you tell? This is a screensho We're married. Can you tell? 

This is a screenshot of when my husband calls me from the bedroom on Duo to tell me to come upstairs to bed. 

That's after he's already flashed the light switch in the room I'm sitting in.

The final step is when he broadcasts an announcement on the Google Home. That's when I know I better get my butt up there. 

(I'll post a few more screenshots in my story.)

🗨️ If you're in a relationship, what's a weird or quirky thing you and your partner(s) do? 

🗯️ If you're single, what's a weird or quirky thing people in relationships do that annoys you?
That's right, I AM your worst nightmare. 🌙 See That's right, I AM your worst nightmare. 🌙

See you in your dreams--I mean nightmares! Mwahahahaha!!! 

P.S. - Wasn't Goshen cute as a superhero?
I will never be able to hold her hand again. That I will never be able to hold her hand again. That was my first thought when my friend’s mom told me her hands would be amputated.

On Sept. 2nd, my friend Karen was in a tragic car accident. She has too many injuries to list. Please take two minutes to read her story by clicking the link in my bio and share her GoFundMe page if you can.  

Barely a month later, my dog Goshen collapsed very unexpectedly. He was put to sleep in my lap. 

I have been a complete mess this past month. Here are some things I’ve done to get myself through the grief: 

💜 Hid everything in our home that reminds me of Goshen. 

🤍 Cried 3x/day. 

💜 Eaten almost nothing for about a week. 

🤍 Ate an entire 1 oz block of mozzarella cheese in one sitting. 

💜 Cleaned my house like I’ve never cleaned before.

🤍 Written to Karen every day at the hospital, even though she can’t respond.

💜 Picked up all the sticks on my lawn and broke them over and over into tiny pieces. 

🤍 Sang pop songs in the shower, planning elaborate music videos in my mind. 

💜 Dressed up and filmed said music videos, which came out ridiculously awful. 

🤍 Gone for long walks outside. 

💜 Fantasized about trampling my neighbors’ Trump/Pence signs during said walks. 

🤍 Screamed. 

💜 Went into the drawer of things reminding me of Goshen and smelled his sweater. 

🤍 Cried more. 

What are some things you do when you grieve? 

Link to help Karen: GoFundMe.com/f/KarensMedicalBillsAndCare 
(also in my bio)
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Tweets by @russellowrites

Two awesome people are published in this issue of Khora!! @eva_recinos & @katjolewis (The other writers may be awesome too, but I don't know them.) corporealkhora.com/2…

About 4 days ago from Marisa Russello (she/her)'s Twitter via Twitter Web App · reply · retweet · favorite

Biden's proposed bill, if passed, would remove the word "alien" from US immigration laws, replacing it with the term "noncitizen." cnn.com/2021/01/21/p…

About 2 weeks ago from Marisa Russello (she/her)'s Twitter via Twitter for Android · reply · retweet · favorite

RT @brevitymag "To write memoir is to understand and make sense of experience, to give a life an organization, to discover the metaphors of one’s narrative. It’s not simply to say, 'this happened to me, then this happened to me, then this next thing happened to me.' " ~ Sue William Silverman

About 2 weeks ago from Marisa Russello (she/her)'s Twitter via Twitter for Android · reply · retweet · favorite

RT @NorthwesternUP Previously out of print, Megan Stielstra’s collections Everyone Remain Calm and Once I Was Cool will now have a new home with Northwestern University Press this August!📚Thank you, @ChicagoRevBooks! @meganstielstra @parneshia chireviewofbooks.com… .

About 3 weeks ago from Marisa Russello (she/her)'s Twitter via Twitter for Android · reply · retweet · favorite

RT @SenWarren The cost of housing, child care, and college have gone through the roof, but Congress hasn’t raised the federal minimum wage in almost 12 years. No excuses – Dems need to right this wrong, raise the minimum wage to $15/hr, and give families the raise they’ve long deserved.

About 3 weeks ago from Marisa Russello (she/her)'s Twitter via Twitter for Android · reply · retweet · favorite

Too many open tabs causing you stress?? Here's a tip for you! In Google Chrome, right click on a tab and assign it to a "group." You label and color each group. Then you can organize those groups by topics, projects, etc. Voila! Your screen is no longer a cluttered mess.

About a month ago from Marisa Russello (she/her)'s Twitter via Twitter for Android · reply · retweet · favorite

RT @sukrungruang Writing routine: Writing doesn’t mean sitting at the computer every day. It means carving out a mental space so words and images and memory can dance in your head.

About a month ago from Marisa Russello (she/her)'s Twitter via Twitter Web App · reply · retweet · favorite

"Relapse has become a negative word that is equated with failure instead of as a normal part of an individual’s treatment trajectory." theconversation.com/…

About a month ago from Marisa Russello (she/her)'s Twitter via Twitter for Android · reply · retweet · favorite

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