A Letter from the editor

from Health, Beauty & Fitness Spring '23

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When I was little, my parents used to call me Minkus, as in Minkus from “Boy Meets World.” Minkus, friend to Cory, Shawn and Topanga on the hit Disney Channel show, was the epitome of a nerd. He excelled at school and always had his head in a book of some sort.

In many ways, I was like Minkus – friendly; studious; intelligent; an avid reader. I was the child that always had their nose in a book, or two. I was the child that attacked the recommended summer reading list like the Toys ‘R Us Christmas catalog, marker in hand circling the books that I’d tackle over summer break.

My love for reading continued into high school. In fact, when I opened my first credit card, I looked for one that gave me cash back on “entertainment purchases,” which included restaurants, movies and, you guessed it, books. One of the first places I drove when I got my license was the local library (I am a huge fan of libraries!). In college, my backpack had at least one novel so that at any given moment I could plop down on a bench and get lost in another world if only for a few minutes between classes.

Somewhere along the way, reading fell to the wayside, especially when I became a new mother. The trips to the library halted. The diaper bag surely didn’t hold a book. And so, for a few years, I lost sight of the girl I had once been; I lost sight of Minkus.

Truth be told, I didn’t even realize she was missing until I finally found her – and became her – again a few years ago.

Now, if you find me at the playground with my kids, I might be reading the latest suspense novel by Stacey Willingham. If you find me at the pediatrician’s office (God knows all us moms have been spending way too much time there lately), I might be re-reading my favorite Jodi Picoult novel, “The Pact.” If you find me sitting at the school pick-up line, I might be reading one of Kristin Hannah’s magical and often heartbreaking historical fiction masterpieces. If you see me out and about with a group of women, chances are it is my book club group that meets monthly.

Thanks to my beloved Kindle Paperwhite, you’ll never know for sure what I will be reading, but you can rest assured I will have a book – and probably a handful of others downloaded – in my possession. Because that’s who I am. That’s who I’ve always been, and I’m not losing sight of that girl again.

If you’re like me and have lost sight of one of your core characteristics, I encourage you to rediscover yourself. You’re worth it.

Sending you love and health, JeSSica humphrey-cintineo