Jedidiah Jenkins
Author
“Life is lived in seasons...some seasons are meant to teach you and some seasons you’re meant to teach.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationJedidiah Jenkins
Milestones
My road in life has taken me all over.
I grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, and aspired to become a famous film director.
I moved to Los Angeles, California, for college, but once I started taking some film classes and realized what being a director actually meant, I knew it wasn’t for me.
I changed my major and graduated with a degree in creative writing.
Unsure about how to make a living in the creative industry, I decided to get my law degree and work toward becoming a human rights lawyer.
I wasn’t fulfilled by the legal jobs I had tried, so when my friends started Invisible Children, a human rights nonprofit, I jumped at the opportunity to come on as the organization’s lawyer.
As I got closer to age 30, I started feeling like there was something else I was meant to do—I wanted to become a writer but didn’t think I had enough meaningful experience to write and impact others.
When I turned 30, I quit my job to cycle from Oregon to Patagonia and have an adventure to write about—the experience became the subject for my memoir “To Shake the Sleeping Self.”
I’m now living my dream of being a writer—I have another book coming out soon and I also share my writing through Instagram.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Author
I write books about my thoughts and experiences.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Writing
Travel
Communicating / Sharing Stories
Day to Day
Normally, when I have a book I'm working on, I begin my day at the coffee shop. I'll sit at the coffee shop and write from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Then I'll have the rest of the day to run errands or do other things.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for everyone
I like writer Elizabeth Gilbert's advice to follow your curiosity when you don't know what you want to do in life. If you're curious about something, walk through that door and see where it goes. You might find whatever it is you're meant to be doing. I also suggest writing down your goals and why those are your goals. If you can't pinpoint the "why," then down the line you'll realize you spent time and energy chasing something and you don't even know why you were chasing it in the first place.
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Myself:
"Maybe I shouldn't do this...I'll just embarrass myself."
Challenges I Overcame
LGBT
Interviewed By
Do It Differently
Paths to fulfilling work for all learning styles
