This month, our Letter from the Campfire is being written by another of our Season 14 fellows, Jue Hagene. Here, she’ll offer a bit of insight into her take on our recently selected season question: “How does love change us?” We welcome you to hear more from Jude on the topic at their Campfire in August. Also, don’t forget to RSVP for our next Campfire on July 10th!

Dear Campfire Friends,

My name is Jude Hagene, and I am excited and pleased to be your storyteller at the August 14th Campfire. We will be delving into the question “How does love change us?” Wow! Where do we start? Scientists have biological proof that being in love actually changes our brain chemistry. Holding the hand of someone you love can reduce stress in a measurable way. When we are in love, the circuitry for making critical assessments of others shuts down giving us a biological basis for ‘love is blind’. And those are just some of the physical changes!

Growing up in the 50s and 60’s, I lapped up fairy tales, adored Disney princess movies and watched TV shows like Father Knows Best and Leave It to Beaver. The happy families had problems, but they were easily solved by a deep conversation with good ‘ole dad, and the romances promised a happy ever after life of love and marriage. Not exactly good preparation for reality! My childhood and adult life are wildly different from the media messages I consumed. My intelligent brain and rational self are happy to acknowledge the difference between fictional stories and real life, but my heart has stubbornly, and secretly, wanted those idealized notions to be true. Even though I didn’t grow up in Mayberry (the small town from The Andy Griffith Show), and have yet to find my “one true love,” I have had a tremendous amount of love in my life; from my parents, romantic partners, being a parent and being a friend.

There have been some tricky love lessons in my past; some I have had to revisit several times before internalizing them. Sometimes I have not recognized love, for it was so disguised in reality it was hard to identify. There is the giving of love, the receiving of love, there is self-love and selfless love. There is compromise and there is sacrifice. There is the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine, and there is the stress hormone, cortisol. There have been beautiful bouquets of flowers and even more dirty socks. But always, there has been love.

So, grab the hand of someone you love and come explore the Season Question with me! I can’t wait to find out how love has changed you!

Love,
Jude

Stand Out Stories

These are the stories that are standing out for our team this month:.
In honor of our Season 14 question and the Campfires it inspired this month and next, we asked our team to share short stories about how love has changed them. We’ve shared their answers on Instagram and invite you to take a look!