I’ve always said that Vermont is the soul of me. I can remember driving back from Syracuse University and seeing that green “Welcome to Vermont” sign and feeling this ~whoosh~ of relief and gratitude for being home. I’d let out this big exhale as if my body knew, even more than I did, how I felt.

In tv news, where I worked for many years, you either have “it” or you don’t. “It” is this unexplainable something that transfers through a screen and truly connects you to your audience. I think of our soulful places as that kind of “it”. It just has what connects us, in the most authentic way, to our true being.

When I saw that Vermont was trending on Twitter, I loved it!

Ironically, there’s nothing really trendy about Vermont when you get to the heart of living here. Yes, the ice cream, the beer, the farm to table food are all on trend, but they were born from a passion that had nothing to do with being trendy.

Tweet

As you’ve discovered if you follow our big ‘to dos’, wood piles are trendy and so are mittens – just ask Bernie! Here’s what I shared on Twitter about my soulful state:

#Vermont in all its glory is soulful, but I love the things you don’t see in those beautiful pics: walking to school, neighbors that bring muffins when they bake, wooded trails for “playgrounds”, less consumerism and more intentional shopping – what else? #trulyjude

Julie Kelley/Founder, TrulyJude.com

Vermont has definitely gotten “cooler” since I grew up here. Back in the 90’s, we didn’t even know what was cool. My cousins in New Jersey had Reeboks like five years before I got a pair. And, when 90210 was a big hit, we hadn’t even gotten Fox on cable in Vermont. I only found out about Dylan and Kelly (Yup, just googled those to remember their names!) when I went to summer camp at Wellesley College.

So much of that simplicity still exists and it’s one of the reasons I feel so inspired seeing my son embrace Vermont! I don’t know if his soul will feel it like mine, but I treasure sharing this space with him.

Truly,

Julie

Your. Soulful. Spaces.