About Me

It’s about time! After a year and half of blogging, I have finally put an “About Me” page together.

About Me

Name: S. Nichole
AKA: Sojourner
Age: 30 something
Location: St. Paul, MN
Current Occupation: Social Work
Education: AA General; AA in Photography; BAS in Psychology
Future Plans: PhD in Psychology or History

My interests include photography, art, music, cooking, extreme bookworm-ish tendencies, disability rights, volunteerism, world religions, philosophy, psychology, the brain and how it works, and jewelry making.

I recently graduated with a BAS in Psychology and have decided to take a couple of years to decide which direction I will go in regards to continuing my education. I am looking into programs in cognitive neuroscience, psychology of religion, and history of religion in the U.S. as possibilities for graduate school.

I am a member of a Unitarian Universalist congregation in the Twin Cities Area.

Why A Blog About Paganism?

A Pagan Sojourn is my space to reflect about different aspects of Paganism and occasionally general religion and psychology in relation to religion.

Although I had been reading about and studying Paganism since my mid-teens, I didn’t get very serious about the study. While I have continued to be mildly interested in the subject, my interest was renewed when a classmate disclosed a secret to me: She had decided to become Pagan. When she couldn’t answer some of the questions I was asking, I decided to seek out the answers, or various versions of them, for myself.

It was at the same time that I found a blog for the first time and I realized its potential in helping me to keep my thoughts on Paganism in a semi-organized manner. I also realized that the platform of blogging allowed for people to add to the conversation and saw it as a way to interact and learn from those that read my blog.

I don’t claim to be an expert, I do try to be informed, but I definitely have an interest in the subject of Pagan religions.

What’s With Your Name?

I go by “Sojourner” on my blog. However, some people erroneously list me as “Knowledge Sojourner” because of my email address. Maybe telling the story behind the email address will clear up some confusion.

When I announced to my friends and family that I would be going back to school, I got the expected, good natured teasing. “You’ll be going to class with people who are more than 10 years younger than you!” They seemed to think this was funny. So I told them that I would only be “dwelling temporarily within the walls of knowledge” and then would move on to bigger and better things. As a joke, I set up the email and planned to use it while in school. Instead, I used it for this blog as it fit with my blog title and pen name.

What’s With The Blog Name?

Sojourn

Main Entry: ¹so·journ
Pronunciation: 'sO-"j&rn, sO-'
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English sojorn, from Anglo-French sujur, sujurn, from sujurner
: a temporary stay < sojourn in the country>

(source: Merriam-Webster Online)

While many people use the term “sojourn” to mean “a journey” or “to seek,” it also implies a temporary stay. This blog was meant to be a year long study of Paganism, before moving on to something else. However, when I got to end of the year, I realized that I had more that I wanted to learn. I am currently thinking about changing the name of my blog to reflect my longer stay.

I Want You To Participate!

Please, if you have something to say, SAY IT! I want you to participate in the conversation, even if you have a different perspective. I like hearing different perspectives, as it is a great way to learn. All I ask is that you try to be respectful. I will try to do the same.

Feel free to comment even on older posts, as I do keep track of comments that are made on them.