Author Archives: Joe Messink

It’s a common practice for me that, on dates, I try to ask a variety of questions. I try to make it like a game, filled with questions that are easy and fun to answer. For example, I might ask what Hogwarts house a person would place themselves in or what superpowers they would chooseContinue reading “When the Nail’s Too Weak, Grab a Spike”

Recently, I had the chance to reconnect with an old friend from college. The most level headed and down to earth girl in a group full of competitive nurses, Carla and I quickly became fast friends during my first year at Carroll University. After that first year, she decided to leave to pursue a betterContinue reading “A Small Fish in a Large Pond (That’s Filled with Barracudas)”

I’ve received a lot of feedback in the last week about my writing and blog in general. According to the site statistics and messages I’ve received from readers, the letter to my mom on her birthday was the most well-received. So I’ve decided today to share another, more recent story about the woman who helpedContinue reading “When We Stop to Smell the Flowers”

After only two days, I received a call from the Waukegan Testing Center to learn I was negative for COVID-19. And then, like clockwork, my mom received the same call only minutes later with similar results. While I could write an entire article about the amazing service I experienced at the Waukegan COVID Testing CenterContinue reading “The Simple Things in Life”

I’ve written a lot about my relationships with friends and family on my blog. I’ve found that expressing appreciation for the men and women who’ve helped me to come this far has a wonderful way of loosening the holds of anxiety and depression. By taking time out of my day to think and write aboutContinue reading “To My Forever Friend”

So it’s finally happened: a close relative went in for a screening and tested positive for Corona. I’m surprised, honestly, that I went so long without knowing someone personally who’d gotten the disease. Even more surprising, she received her test results only after I spent the last weekend visiting her at her house. So IContinue reading “Life’s Little, Deja Vu(tiful) Moments”

A few weeks ago, I bought tickets to California on a whim: at $78 dollars, I’d decided to put an end to my self-imposed quarantine by making a trip to see the Redwood Forest. It’s always been a dream of mine to make it there one day and wrap my arms around one of theContinue reading “Over the River and Through the Woods”

While I was out, I turned off my Bluetooth and switched on the radio. Since getting my car in July, I had been so enthralled by the ability to play music directly from my phone that I had yet to explore my radio. As I drove down Grand avenue, flipping through stations, I was surprisedContinue reading “On Days of Golden “Thunderclouds””

It has often been a symptom of my anxiety that I find myself unable to sleep at night. Sometimes my thoughts and worries prove too difficult to handle and I find myself staring, groggy eyed, as the sun peaks in through my windows. At the peak of Coronavirus, when I left my job and movedContinue reading “Morning Drives at Midnight”

The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Hyundai Elantra is the author’s reflection on the blessings of modern travel and the deeper meaning behind those miles spent. Following a brief car-theft-turned-recovery in early July, I have been the proud lessee of a 2020 Hyundai Elantra. Never before had I driven a carContinue reading “The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Hyundai Elantra”