About Me — Nicole Dake, Editor for The Orange Journal

About me and my writing journey

Hello all, I am Nicole Dake, one of the co-editors for The Orange Journal. The Orange Journal is a publication for personal development here on Medium.

The publication is owned by Susie Pinon. My other co-editors are Alessia May and The Sober Vegan Yogi.

Since we are new to the world of editing here on Medium, Susie has asked us to each do a little bit of an introduction.

My Writing Journey

I have been a writer ever since the 8th grade, when my English teacher explained to us that songs are poetry put to music. That is when I began writing poems, scribbling them in every notebook and journal that I could get my hands on over the years.

In college, I loved writing research papers. Writing research is a great way to learn more about the world, and I consider myself to be a life-long learner.

In April 2021, I started a blog in preparation for writing a book. I had read in some Pinterest article that getting used to writing every day improves the quality of your writing, as well as making it easier. So I decided to give it a shot.

By September 2021, I was ready to write my first book. This is the Trauma Survivor’s Guide to Coping With Panic Attacks.

Since I have PTSD and panic attacks, I was looking for coping strategies to use during a panic attack. The research seemed to be woefully lacking, so I compiled some things that worked for me, including what I learned in therapy, to create this book.

As soon as that book was released, I started work on my second book, which is largely based off of my blog: Happy. Healthy. Rich. The smart mom’s guide to living your best life.

This book is built around a goal-setting framework, and talks about how you can increase your happiness and reduce stress by taking life on in an intentional manner. Cultivating healthy habits for your mental, physical and social-emotional health can make you much more happy and purposeful.

My books:

After writing these two books, I had another writer friend who had beta-read both of them recommend that I should start writing on Medium in addition to my blog. So, I joined in November 2021. I started getting serious in December when I realized what a cool community this is.

Last month, I expanded my journey even farther when Susie asked me to become a co-editor for The Orange Journal. It has been great getting to read so many wonderful articles, and being able to help new writers on the platform!

As a writer, I typically refer to myself as a motherhood lifestyle and mental health blogger and author. It is a pretty wide bucket, but in the last few months on Medium I have branched out to writing about other topics as well.

In addition to being a writer and a mother of wonderful children, I am currently taking on another challenge as a recent expat from the US to Germany. You can read about that in my own publication, American Expats Living in Germany.

Professionally, I have a BA in Psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder and a Paralegal Certification from Boston University. I worked for 10+ years in public service in the United States.

If there is anything else that you want to know, always feel free to ask!

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