By Bryn Sierra (MSTP Senior Program Manager)
My MSTPastimes are my response to the poet Mary Oliver, who asked: “Here you are, alive. Would you like to make a comment?” Yes, I would, thank you. Here goes.
Design, connection, and wonder have long been how I comment on the world. After experiencing severe postpartum anxiety and depression, I began to reclaim my creative self in 2017 through a small papercraft business, Sierra Paper Love, where I made “beautiful paper hearts that fold into clever, mailable envelopes.” I opened an Etsy shop, sold at local markets, and fulfilled the sweetest custom orders. I loved it, and I was fiercely protective of finding my way back to who “Bryn” was.
After nine years, I’m phasing out Sierra Paper Love. I still have shelves of gorgeous paper waiting to be used, but my creative energy has shifted.
These days, my comment to the world is made alongside my daughters and their Girl Scout communities. I’ve led my oldest daughter’s troop since it began during the height of COVID – five masked Daisies meeting in my backyard – and now, nearly six years later, those same girls are beginning work on their Bronze Awards. I helped launch my youngest daughter’s troop in 2023 and have enjoyed exploring broader leadership opportunities, including serving as Fall Product Coordinator for our Service Unit for the past two years.
Still designing. Still connecting. Wonder has grown into something warmer and more communal. And leadership has become a meaningful part of that reclamation. I know who “Bryn” is now, and it’s a joy to make these comments to the world, together.
