![The Little Jalapeño Plant That Could](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/4085/533059/5f9ffc73be902/The-Little-JalapeoPlant-That-Could.jpeg)
IT WAS OUR LAST CLASS BEFORE summer break. I was finishing up the first year of an MFA program in poetry, going to school while working full-time as a Guideposts editor. I was exhausted—and riddled with doubt. Was I good enough to be in the MFA program? As talented as my peers? I worried I wasn’t progressing as fast as everyone else. When a professor asked about our summer plans, I panicked. I didn’t want to appear idle and somehow undeserving of my spot in the program.
“Gardening,” I blurted out. Where did that come from? I knew nothing about plants!
My professor nodded and said, “What a good idea, Mari! Emily Dickinson loved gardening.”
Emily Dickinson had lived on a homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts, and studied botany as a child. I was in my late twenties, lived in a New York City apartment and had—I repeat—no gardening experience.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 2020-Ausgabe von Guideposts.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 2020-Ausgabe von Guideposts.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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![In the Everyday](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4085/1698982/_tp7FwgnK1720173281975/IN-THE-EVERYDAY.jpg)
In the Everyday
Cooking, cleaning, breaking up the kids’ fights... If only I had a few minutes for myself!
![Worst-Case Scenario?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4085/1698982/DmGYROi_a1720172974956/WORSTCASE-SCENARIO.jpg)
Worst-Case Scenario?
I’d had nagging injuries before and always recovered. Why wasn’t I confident that I would get better this time?
![Honor Thy Son](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4085/1698982/qshJPD_vd1720172660647/HONOR-THY-SON.jpg)
Honor Thy Son
I was a Marine officer, a lifer—or so I thought. Then came Patrick
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Keeping It Real
In an age of social media, we're experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. Two friends who met online tell you how to grow an authentic connection
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What You Wish For
She never wanted to see her abusive father again
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God's Pillow
In 2016, the Soberanes Fire in Northern California was the costliest ever in the United States. It almost cost me my life, despite the promise I made to my wife
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"I Heard You Praying"
As a hospital chaplain, I had seen hopeless cases. But never one more seemingly hopeless than this
!["I Love You, Dad!"](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4085/1698982/5--oYFJ_T1720166513264/I-LOVE-YOU-DAD.jpg)
"I Love You, Dad!"
Some of your favorite GUIDEPOSTS writers share what they learned from their fathers
![Harold and Me](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4085/1698982/Qhajb_Gug1720166039150/HAROLD-AND-ME.jpg)
Harold and Me
They’re nearly all gone now, the generation we call The Greatest.” This woman’s mission was to honor one of them
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The Race Before Her
For this Olympic champion, success bred her greatest fear. How five verses set her free