Melissa Kassens is a Lakeland University senior who majors in creative writing and minors in psychology. Kassens attends Lakeland as a full-time student while juggling the duties as a student, worker, and a mother. Her kids are aged 6, 11, and 17.  Kassens believes that trying to keep everything balanced is an unrealistic idea.   

Kassens’ preferred writing style is nonfiction. She feels that her life experiences and creative views allow for her to easily write nonfiction work. For her senior project she spent her time working on her book “Grit and Glimmers.” The book is a collection of essays inspired by her life experiences.  

“What I have notice while writing is that we all experience these moments of grit in our life that we are pushing through or you know we are enduring through. In between those moments are those little bits of glimmers that come through that whether it’s teaching us a life lesson or clarity on things. The collection are personal experiences but I believe that they are universal experiences that I believe that everyone will be able to connect with.” Kassens said. 

As an adult, she realized that she was not pursuing the things that she wanted to do as when she was a child passionate in writing. She decided to make a change and pursue creative writing at Lakeland, 

“What motivates me to keep going is knowing that I’m doing this for me which sometimes gets lost when you become an adult. You tend to do things for a bigger picture whether it’s a family or to move you forward in life.” Melissa Kassens 

The reading of her book “Grit and Glimmers” will be held on December 14 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Banjole’s Brew 115 N. Franklin St. Port Washington, WI.