The Genesis of A Graceful Space

Hello everyone —

As you can tell from my site, I am starting a blog! However, before diving into the content of my first post, I want to provide a little background of myself for any new viewers that may not know me personally, in an effort to learn more about my journey:

My name is Gracie Holder, but most of my close friends call me Grace—hence the blog name. I am 20 years old, and I am from a small town in Oklahoma. Hennessey is where I lived and was raised by my parents—the two lovely souls that are: Randy & Joyce Holder. I have 3 siblings; I grew up the third child between my eldest brother, Chase, my sister, Skylar, and my little brother, Gunnar.

I love my family more than words can express. For anyone that truly knows me, my core family is very important to me; they are a huge part of who I am—as I have learned countless lessons, morals, and sentiments from them. I am blessed to have a family like my own; I know this is not the case for everyone, which I understand. I just share this to say they are a huge part of who I am and have become thus far; I continue to learn more about each of them everyday, and I am thankful for the times we share together. Whether you have a close relationship with your family members or not, I think everyone still has certain role models: teachers, coaches, or friends that push you to recognize your own potential and help you navigate this crazy maze that is life. There's not a 1:1 for everyone, and I am cognizant of that, but these just happen to be a few of mine.

I went to high school about 30 miles from my home, in Enid, Oklahoma. I graduated in May of 2021, and I have since moved to Dallas, Texas for school, where I go to college at Southern Methodist University. SMU is a private, liberal arts institution, where I am currently a sophomore at, double-majoring in English & Nonprofit Arts Management/Social Innovation as well as minoring in Spanish; additionally, I am also on the Pre-Law track.

While at SMU, I have the privilege of working as a Peer Academic Counselor for my scholars program: the Rotunda Scholars Program. This program has given me so much purpose in terms of getting to help underclassmen to achieve academic and personal success in several different means: academic council, networking and/or social events, as well as community centered activities are the core of our program. College is hard for many, especially for young adults—many away from home. It's no secret that finding your identity outside of your previous household and in this new era of adulthood, searching for a lifetime career, and navigating new friendships/relationships can be extremely difficult and an enormous task; one I think is often overlooked! Some of my students that I work with are first-generation and/or from marginalized backgrounds, so getting to witness them become future world changers is truly inspiring because equity and inclusion is a major component of what we represent within the program; my staff that work alongside me are also pure gems. Furthermore, I am head of the Rotunda Book Club which consists of book reading discussions with students and guest professors: a nerdy perk I quite enjoy myself.

I also have had the opportunity to work with Engage Dallas at SMU: a program helping students gain awareness of communities in South & West Dallas to volunteer in. I specifically work within the child literary program—as it is a major passion of mine. With Reading Partners, a national nonprofit, I have had the chance to tutor elementary students at a local school: Geneva Heights Elementary, 2 miles from SMU. This is where I fell in love with the Spanish language; although I took Spanish classes in high school, there's something about working with bilingual Hispanic students, watching how their brain functions and words formulate, that humbles you to witness the amazingness in having a dual-language basis, which explains my minor—in an effort to appreciate the Spanish language and decrease conversation barriers.

Now that y'all know a bit about myself, my studies, my work, and my hobbies, let's get into the purpose of this blog: YOU. For those that know me well, reading & writing has prevailingly been a passion of mine—something that has always come natural to me. At times, it has served as a bedrock when everything else seemed to break around me. However, on a non-depressing note, reading has also been something that just makes me awe-inspired and curious: two things I also love being in the state of. I am an over-thinker at heart, so writing really helps me cope with this. My close family & friends know this and have encouraged me to create a platform like A Graceful Space for years, but I have never delivered... until the present; I have realized that is all we are guaranteed: this very moment and breath, the rest is not in our hands—thus its' genesis now.

Doing this, I hope that my sharing and insights on various topics about my life may inform you of the importance of the perspectives of others. I have evolved tremendously over the last few years, as one does through age, experiences, and growing awareness. AND although the future is unknown, if there is one thing consistent in life, it's change... Because of this reality, I know that I am continually growing, evolving, and learning in so many areas—such as: feeling lost before gaining my self-identity, implementing and forming an eternal perspective, advocating for others, standing up for my passions, empowering my perhaps exteriorly unattractive characteristics, going through trials and tribulations, facing betrayals, losing and forgiving people, family, and friends—often silently, then finding the people and things I value most, and finally, remembering the voice I have and using it for a purpose.

Lastly, whether you're a reader, writer, or thinker yourself—or not—I hope that you can find some joy or amusement, if nothing else. Learning how to become more socially aware, understanding the world around us, and engaging with others is something I think we all need more of in a universe that's sometimes filled with more hate than love. Moreover, I think we could all use a little grace. I, myself, I have to constantly remind myself how to live with and by grace, that's given to me by the only One that can—Jesus: my saving grace.

Anyways, enough of the depths of my soul. There's more to come everyone, so please stay tuned if you so wish! I will be posting from my Instagram (gracieholder) with updates about my website/blog posts for now, so if you wish to stay updated with A Graceful Space, be on the lookout for new posts and with special features from upcoming guests in the near future ;)

With love and gratitude,

Grace herself