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Leez Ochsner

@leezawrites

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Writer for life, copywriter for hire at @freshlybrewedcopy. Fueled by good coffee, simplicity, and poetry between the lines.

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Nothing makes a writer procrastinate faster than a sunny day and a self-imposed deadline.

Getting close to sharing a little something I’ve been working on behind the scenes, but for now here are some scenes from my favorite Duluth trails this weekend.

If I had to sum up how I’m feeling about all the things on the horizon in one photo though, it’s the last one for sure. taken in Duluth, Minnesota by @leezawrites

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a month ago

Everything shifts when you start choosing yourself.

As a slowly recovering people pleaser, I'll be the first to admit, this isn't something that comes naturally to me.

In fact, this was the year, I noticed just how much space I was still holding for friendships that never made any room for me.

But the more time I spent waiting, the more I realized I was only holding myself back from becoming the person I needed in my corner all along.

So, if you’ve ever found yourself in the waiting room, this is your sign to choose you. And then clap so loud for yourself that you stop hearing who doesn’t. taken in Duluth, Minnesota by @leezawrites

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a month ago

Kinda chic to paddle out for a solo sunrise, still be in awe of the little things, and remember peace comes from within. taken in Lake Superior by @leezawrites

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2 months ago

A few months ago, I began a morning practice I call G&Ps (short for gratitude + prayer).

While there's something sacred about starting my mornings by voicing what I'm grateful for and being intentional with prayer, lately I've noticed that something is missing.

That something is having faith in the plans that weren't part of my prayers.

If you've been there too, maybe the answers you're looking for don't come from praying harder, but trusting in God deeper. taken in Duluth, Minnesota by @leezawrites

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2 months ago

If you knew me at 17, you knew my favorite place was somewhere on the freeway, with the windows down, and my music turned way up.

While not your typical sing-along, I loved listening to the iconic 90s spoken-word hit, “Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen” by Baz Luhrmann.

What I didn't expect was how hard a part of this song would hit me when I got an unexpected phone call from my doctor with news of breast c*ncer I had no idea how to hold two years to this day.

Baz Luhrmann was right, “The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4 PM on some idle Tuesday.”

After two surgeries, a few medical sabbaticals, and endless prayers and reflections over the past two years, I could think of a few more lines I'd add to that song.

But for now, all I will say, is sometimes the things that blindside you also have a way of opening your eyes to new ways of seeing, feeling, and appreciating even the most ordinary days you once overlooked. taken in Duluth, Minnesota by @leezawrites

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5 months ago

I tend to overthink a lot of what I write but something about this little poem that came through this morning felt just right 🙏🏼 taken in Duluth, Minnesota by @leezawrites

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5 months ago

It's been a minute since I've shown my face around here mainly because I’ve had my head down for months working on my first book of poems I never thought I would write.

Which if I'm being honest, still feels a bit surreal most days considering I’ve identified as a copywriter most of my life.

You know the one that helps other people write the next chapter of their story, while mine quietly gets put on hold.

But if there’s anything I’ve learned throughout this process, writing for yourself gets easier when you surrender and let God show you the way (also filing under things I never thought I'd write or say).

In the meantime, you can find me braving the page, making sense of life between the lines, and sharing everything that goes into writing my first book in case it inspires you to lean into a new version of yourself, too. taken in Duluth, Minnesota by @leezawrites

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5 months ago

There’s honestly so much we can learn from each season if we just pay close attention.

Even though it can be scary to let parts of yourself crack and break open, I can tell you from firsthand experience, what broke me also woke me.

You know the kind of wakeup call that rearranges the biggest pieces of your life because you were never meant to plant your roots and stay there. taken in Duluth, Minnesota by @leezawrites

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5 months ago

Slow morning hikes, hallelujah
Time to sit with my thoughts, hallelujah
Making progress on my first book, hallelujah
Trusting God along the way, hallelujah
Everything, hallelujah taken in Duluth, Minnesota by @leezawrites

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6 months ago

A little something I've been working on for my first book of poems. taken in Duluth, Minnesota by @leezawrites

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6 months ago

And just like that, it's the first day of spring.

I know it doesn’t quite look or feel like it yet, but if there’s anything this season reminds me, it’s that growth still happen even when you can’t see it on the surface 🌱

So, if you need a little reminder to keep watering the seeds you once planted deep within you, this is it. taken in Duluth, Minnesota by @leezawrites

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7 months ago

I’ve spent so much of my life trying to fit into someone else’s definition of what my life should look like.

It wasn’t until I stumbled my way back to poetry after a medical sabbatical last August that I realized just how deeply I had internalized the belief that I had to choose between copywriting and poetry if I was going to ‘make it as a writer’ as they say.

And by ‘they’, I mean something a talented copywriter I deeply admired once told me with such strong conviction that I became numb to my own intuition and the ability to trust that wise little voice inside my head.

So, after over a decade of building my career as a copywriter and running my company @freshlybrewedcopy for the past five years, I realized I had archived my dream of writing a book of poems so deep in my subconscious that I almost forgot all about it.

When a talented writer by the name of, @shandicejlaura (formerly Shandice Stallworth), reached out to me a few years ago to help edit the first volume of her book, Dear Purposeful Woman: Courageous Words for You & Me, it woke up something deep within me.

The work we did together was a vast departure from the kind of work I normally dive into as a copywriter. And yet, I felt oddly at home in this new yet familiar space.

As I sifted through her heartfelt words, something deep within me began to soften. And while it took a few more years for me to start to surrender to my own words, I started to remember all of the versions of myself I muted between the lines.

A truth seeker, a word collector, a mother to my inner child, a trail therapy enthusiast, a recovering morning page believer, a child of God, a student and teacher of life, and dare I say, a poet with a book of her own to birth.

The more I sat with the unedited versions of myself, the more it dawned on me, while some people may misunderstand me in this lifetime, the most important thing is that I fully meet and understand myself. taken in Duluth, Minnesota by @leezawrites

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7 months ago