About Millie

This is my personal blog but I will share a bit about my professional life from time to time as well.  My current goals for keeping this blog are:

• share what I have learned on my journey to becoming a healthier person
• share my training and race plans
• keep myself motivated to continue on this journey
• use my background as a storyteller to relay my personal journey.

I’ll try to post at least once a week.

My day job: I am the Associate Dean for Collections at The University of Alabama Libraries.  I’m responsible for a number of departments – collections, public services, technical services and more. I am also serve on a number of committees on campus and I am active in my profession at the state, regional and national levels.  I frequently write and present on professional topics.  Most of what I write about work on this blog will probably be related to travel and fitting in workouts when I am on the road.

If you want to reach me: E-mail me at millie.jackson@gmail.com.  I’m on Facebook, Twitter (though I don’t keep up with that much), and Flickr.

Who am I? I described myself as a librarian, storyteller and athlete.  The last one may be a stretch but if I tell myself I am an athlete then I am affirming one of the goals I have.

I’ll provide a bit of background here but I will also be writing more about my struggles with weight over the years in another section that I will post soon.

I grew up in Bay City, Michigan.  I’m the youngest of five girls, with a sixteen year or so gap between me and my next sister.  Since my mom was not well when I was born I was raised by an aunt and uncle (who I refer to as my mom and dad, just to be clear) who also had two older children.  My childhood was filled with running around the backyard, playing tag and other games with the neighborhood kids.  I finally learned to ride a bike in 3rd or 4th grade and then promptly wiped out on the hill on Kiesel Street.  I didn’t have a weight problem until I was starting junior high.  In January of my 6th grade year my dad was injured in an industrial accident.  It was a very difficult time for my family and I dealt with it by eating.  People were constantly bringing food to the house during the three month time period while my dad was in the hospital. I lost the weight the next two years with some effort and my first diet.

In high school I became a runner.  I do not remember what inspired me to join the track team but it was probably because a number of my friends were also runners.  This was a sport I could do since it did not involve water (see my post on 2nd gear) or flying objects, which my mother tried to keep me away from so I would not get hurt.  I ran mile, two mile and anchored a relay team for three years. (There were no sports my senior year of high school due to a millage failure.)  I was not fast but I enjoyed the sport.   I continued running in college for my own enjoyment but it did not continue.  Life got in the way with school, more illnesses in my family that required my time as a caretaker and generally just not getting out and doing anything.

My weight and my activity levels have fluctuated during my adult life.  I have exercised on a regular basis for long periods and I have had several trainers over the years. My weight has been up and down.  The main plan I have followed to try to lose weight has been Weight Watchers.  I’ve tried other things too including the current plan that is actually working well for me.  I’ll write more about all of this too.

I’m not an expert or a medical professional.  What I know I have learned from people who are experts and from reading and experimenting with what works for me.  Everyone has their own journey. I have been inspired by reading about other people’s journeys.  I hope this blog helps my readers in some way.