Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Knighton.
Hi Hannah, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
The summer when I turned 8, my mom gave me a golden notebook. The shimmering bound book was engraved with a woman drawn of royal purples, blues, and greens, complete with a magnetic flap to hold it shut. The start of summer in Ohio meant I’d be spending much of my time with babysitters and family friends. My mom asked me to write in my journal as often as possible so that when she read it, she could feel like she was a part of my summer too.
That was the year my mom said she knew I’d become a writer. By the age of twelve, a pile of filled notebooks began to accumulate on bookshelves and in the corner of my room in our new home in Maryland. As the years passed, we found ourselves continuing to bounce from house to house, traveling from state to state, and throughout this time, I fell in love with the feel of inky pen to soft paper. Jane Austen once wrote, “Her thoughts and reflections were habitually her best companions,” and they serve the same purpose for me. Writing has been my release, my confidant, in the midst of constant movement around me.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve become eternally grateful for my mom’s passion for life and the love of writing it created in me. She would always tell us she was “broadening our horizons,” whether we were on a cruise to Alaska, or eating at the restaurant in the top of the Eiffel Tower, or standing by as my stepdad aimed his camera lens at cherry blossoms with the Washington Monument in the backdrop. What’s shaped me into who I am is not only my frequent travels and my ability to be inspired by what’s around me but also by what’s inside me.
I have an earthy soul and constantly find myself drawn to nature. At the age of 16, I worked at an aquarium, and that’s where my interest in ocean wildlife piqued. In college, I went on to earn a B.S. in marine science and a B.A in English. I knew I wanted to find a career path that combined my desire for understanding and connecting to the natural world with my passion for writing and storytelling. Today, I get to do both professional and personal writing that explores all facets of my interests, from detailing my travels, writing stories of ocean conservation, exploring race and grief in essays, and even simply talking about my lifestyle and giving advice on my blog.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was only recently that I hit a huge roadblock that affected both my personal and professional development. Three years ago, after a few years of fumbling and feeling lost after college, I felt like my life was truly on track as I was finding my footing in my desired career path. I began pursuing a master’s in science writing with the Johns Hopkins University and held a position writing for the Smithsonian Institute’s ocean education platform, the Ocean Portal.
That world came crashing down in an instant. I lost my mom suddenly and unexpectedly while we were home together on a random Friday in June of 2020. She was my role model, best friend, and one of the biggest reasons behind my drive to write. With the loss of my mom, I lost myself.
I no longer had the desire to put pen to paper. I often found myself staring at blank notebook pages and empty Word documents. I began my master’s and my tenure with the Smithsonian full of gusto but finished numbly.
Not having the chance to say goodbye to my mother in person was deeply damaging, and it was incredibly important to me to be able to say my goodbyes in my own way. Last year I got to do that by traveling to Puerto Rico, South Africa, Italy, and Greece to spread her ashes.
I learned a lot about myself on that trip and recognized that my mom would have never wanted to see me give up on my writing. From my experience spreading her ashes, I realized I have this intrinsic desire to turn pain into purpose, and I now know that’s through sharing my grief journey.
Today, my mom is still the biggest reason behind my drive to write, just in an entirely different way.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Today, I continue to write both professional and personal pieces. Professionally, I do freelance writing and editing with focuses on wildlife, environment, sustainability, and travel topics. Some of the work I’m proudest of is my writing with the Smithsonian’s Ocean Portal website and two articles I’ve had published with Smithsonian Magazine online
Recently, my focus has shifted more to my personal writing. I’ve been working on a collection of essays that explore grief, identity, life and death and finding my footing in motherhood without my own mother. My goal for 2023 is to begin to publish these pieces, and I’m looking forward to the growth that will come with this new phase of my writing.
In the meantime, you’ll find me frequently updating my blog. I first started blogging when I wasn’t feeling connected or in tune with where I was in life. There was a small period of time after graduating college when my creativity felt constricted, and I knew I had to do something to mentally break out of that space. I began writing about things that I noticed and contemplated on a daily basis. From there, my blog has shaped into what it is today, a place where I share about my lifestyle, give advice and detail my adventures.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Since the COVID crisis, I’ve begun to live far more intentionally. I think COVID caused many of us to realize how quickly things in life can change. It certainly opened my eyes to how short life can be and the importance of truly living in the moment while we can. It’s so important to be flexible, and I now fully recognize the value of being able to adapt to situations that life throws at you.
Contact Info:
- Website: hannahnknighton.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahnicoleknighton/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-knighton-5891a3145/
- Other: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/waitwhy
