My Story
Hello! I'm Lael Keller, and here is a little bit about me and how The Word Garden came to be...
I grew up in a house scattered with books; whenever I needed something to do, a book was within reach. My mom made it a tradition in our house to go to the library every Friday. We'd come back after several hours, exhausted, and carrying at least eighty books (between me and my siblings!). But even more than reading, I loved being read to. On sleepy summer afternoons, my mom would read The Chronicles of Narnia, which is still one of my favorite memories. Little did I know then that the first seeds of my word garden were planted.
In high school I volunteered as an aftercare program advisor at my former elementary school, and started telling stories to the children. We’d sit around a table and take turns sharing our favorites, some made up on the spot. As much as I loved telling stories, I enjoyed hearing the children make their own. I saw how stories are as much self-expression as they are imagination, a force of healing and transformation.
Truthfully, I did not know what I wanted to study in college. I thought for some time about what I wanted to do with my life, who I wanted to be. I had people telling me I should study something practical, something safe. But I believe sometimes we have to take a leap of faith, to follow inklings of inspiration. I chose the only path which interested me at the time: Philosophy and Classics. This turned out to be one of the best choices in my life (truly I had made some poor ones until then!). I spent over half my time at Purdue University as an undergraduate writing consultant at the Purdue OWL (online writing lab), a globally recognized resource for writing instruction. As a consultant I worked with new clients everyday, helping them at any point in their writing process, from brainstorming to revising. My goal was always to help people find their voice, feel confident in their writing, and learn skills to take outside the session. I’ve helped hundreds of students with cover letters, personal statements, class essays, resumes, and dissertations.
Alongside this I worked as an editorial intern for the Purdue University Press, a host for the philosophy department's podcast "The Grindstone," a teaching assistant, and library intern. I have always been passionate about philosophy, and so grateful for the opportunities the department gave me; for this reason I co-founded the Women in Philosophy Society (WIPS) to encourage women in the field of philosophy, or considering entering it.
During my junior/senior year, I co-authored a paper with my philosophy professor and mentor called "Seeing God in a Solar Eclipse: A New Phenomenology of Numinous Experiences." We presented at the University of Toledo and Society for Philosophy of Religion in New Orleans. Of course, I was petrified, but my time at Purdue had prepared me to be a confident and passionate speaker. Sharing a year's worth of writing and rewriting, thinking and rethinking, has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. I believe now that words become who we are; the words we write, the stories we tell, the thoughts we think become the world in which we live.
On the outside, my experience at Purdue looks very productive and rewarding, but I went through the most challenging moments of my life during this time. I even stopped writing for a bit, and it felt like my love for stories and words was gone. So I started doodling. I doodled in margins of my notes during class, in my textbooks, on any bit of paper someone placed in front of me. Over one spring break, my mom gave me a set of acrylic pens. I put them in a golden pouch and took them to class with me. Bit by bit I brought color into my life with these drawings, which became what you see today at The Word Garden. I did not know at the time what this would amount to, if anything at all, but using art to overcome obstacles made me a more empowered person today.
During college I also returned to sharing my love of stories to children. I became a substitute teacher at the elementary and middle school levels and found purpose in sharing stories with the children there. Now my hope is to encourage people of all ages to find empowerment through stories.
I'm looking forward to seeing what The Word Garden will become. If anything, I hope all feel welcomed in this space, and inspired to grow their own word garden, too.
