Spring 2025
Love Well
The Love Well Journey focuses on building self-esteem and confidence through increased self-awareness and empowerment within the Girls Write Now community. Using guided prompts to elicit metacognitive writing, journal entries to encourage self-reflection, and specially tailored courses to promote further learning, this journey will guide you to explore your feelings in a structured and safe way.
Girls Write Now Collaboratory
This Journey Is Closed, but You Can Pre-Enroll in a Fall 2026 Journey Now!
Learning Objectives
Apply Here
Deadline: January 15, 2025
As a mentee or mentor in the Love Well Journey, you’ll have access to a collection of online courses designed to help you learn about the psychological, social, and physical factors that make up your self concept. You’ll be paired with a mentee or mentor for one full cycle, and you’ll meet with them at least twice each month. You’ll attend at least one community engagement experience a month.
- Cycle(s) Spring 2025
- Time 3 hours per month
- Areas of Focus Mental Health & Wellness, Journaling, Creative Nonfiction
- Available Spots Per Cycle 20
Love Well Courses
The courses offered in the Love Well Journey focus on the psychological, social, and physical factors that make up your self concept.
Example Courses:
- Reproductive Health
This course is designed to empower participants with knowledge to make safe and informed decisions regarding sexual health and their bodies. Reproductive Health provides insight into modern policy issues regarding reproductive issues and rights to bodily autonomy. - Self-Concept: Understanding the Dimensions of the Self
From self-esteem and identity to self-efficacy and self-perception, uncover how each dimension contributes to forming our overall self-concept. Gain insights into the psychological and social factors influencing self-concept development, and learn practical strategies for nurturing a positive self-image.
Love Well Mentoring
Mentors and mentees in the Love Well Journey will be paired one full cycle. Each pair will meet for at least 2 hour-long pair session each month.
Love Well Community Experiences
Mentees and mentors in the Love Well Journey must attend at least one Community Experience per month. It is strongly recommended that you attend the following Love Well Journey meetings:
- March 22, 11-12pm ET
- April 22, 4:45-6pm ET
- April 26, 11-12 pm ET
- May 20, 4:45-6pm ET
- May 24, 11-12pm ET
Wellness 360 Adventure
The Love Well Journey is a part of the Wellness 360 Adventure.
Journeys in the Wellness 360 Adventure focus on using writing and creating as a tool to help support your mental heath and general well-being. It is designed for mentees and mentors who want to embrace self-love and healing in their work. Learn more about the other Adventures offered at Girls Write Now below.
Find Your Journey
Find Your Journey
Civil Discourse: Connection & Persuasion (Fall 2025)
In this one-Cycle Journey, Mentees will develop essential skills in public speaking, argumentation, and critical thinking. Through engaging activities and interactive discussions, participants will learn to craft persuasive speeches, construct well-reasoned arguments, and present their ideas with confidence. They will explore techniques for effective communication, refine their ability to think critically under pressure, and practice responding to diverse perspectives in a structured setting.
Book Club: Page to Stage (Fall 2025)
This Journey invites mentees and mentors to explore classic and contemporary literature through both reading and performance. Participants will read three books and then experience them brought to life through dynamic solo stage adaptations in partnership with Literature to Life (LTL).
Independent Study (Fall 2025)
Create your own experience with our Independent Study Journey. Meet as a pair, attend events of interest, and use coursework to help you plan creative projects and meet your goals.
Teach GWN (Fall 2025)
In this Journey, Members of the GWN community will develop curriculum and facilitate a community studio for one or more cycles within GWN’s Collaboratory structure. Each cycle involves facilitating three community studios, one per month. Participants will gain valuable skills in leadership, teaching, and community building. Mentees and Mentors can facilitate a community studio either solo (if they are 18 or older) or together as a pair.
The Power of Punchlines: Stand-Up Comedy for Change (Fall 2025-Spring 2026)
In this two-Cycle Journey, participants will explore the power of comedy as a tool for social change, with a special focus on stand-up comedy. From climate change and economic inequality to LGBTQ+ rights, racial justice, and mental health, you’ll learn how to write and perform material that blends humor with meaningful social critique. Comedy is a form of intelligence—whether you’re new to comedy or a seasoned performer, this journey will help you use humor as a force for social impact.
The Lead Incubator (Fall 2025-Spring 2025)
The Lead Incubator is a crucial extension of the Lead Community Change Journey, offering Mentees the space, resources, and support needed to implement their project plans and drive meaningful change in their communities. It acts as a dynamic platform where they can turn their ideas into action. Mentees participating in the Lead Incubator focus on advancing their community-based social activism projects with the support of their mentors and Girls Write Now’s resources.
Explore Tour (Fall 2025)
Explore the creative and storytelling pathways Girls Write Now offers through a multimedia, multi-genre experience with mini courses, exploratory studios, and one-on-one pair sessions. Build new skills and deepen existing ones across fiction, journalism, publishing, and formats like video, podcasting, and visual storytelling. Ideal for mentees working across media or focused on specific projects, this Journey offers the flexibility to tailor your learning experience to your goals.
Social Media & Marketing (Summer 2025)
This Journey is designed for mentees and mentors who want to understand the power of social media and how to use it effectively to grow an audience, promote their work, and build a personal or professional brand. From crafting engaging posts to creating a consistent online presence, this course covers the essential strategies and tools needed to thrive in the world of digital marketing.
Book Club: Summer Read (Summer 2025)
Book lovers, unite! Each cycle, we’ll close read three new books and discuss them at monthly fixed meetings. When you apply, you can recommend a book that might be chosen for the journey! We’ll focus, in particular, on reading as writers and taking note of the ways each author crafts their story.
College & MFA Preparation (Summer 2025)
Preparing an application for college or graduate school can be a daunting experience. Join us for a Journey that unpacks everything you need to know about finding college and graduate school programs, applying to school, preparing personal essays, and getting the most out of your college or graduate school experience.
