Breaking ground is often associated with pioneering something new – doing something that hasn’t been done before, approaching something differently, or venturing into unfamiliar territory. But what does it mean to break ground beyond that familiar definition? I’ve been thinking about that question a lot while preparing the first issue of The Modern Folio Quarterly. The more I think about it, the more I realize how much of my own life has involved breaking new ground.

2020 was a difficult year for many people. COVID disrupted jobs and livelihoods, but for me, that year brought a series of curveballs that just wouldn’t stop coming. A divorce, surgery, homelessness, and job insecurity all seemed to stack on top of one another. I had a hard time believing that things would ever get better. And for the next four years, it often felt like they didn’t. Whenever one part of my life began to improve, another seemed to fall apart. The struggle felt never-ending.

Then, in 2024, I met my husband. We connected almost immediately. On our first date, we talked about our lives, the things we wanted to do, and the kind of future we imagined for ourselves. I think we both understood that we wanted to work toward something better, and without ever really saying it aloud we agreed to do so – for ourselves, for each other, and for the people we loved.

And so far, we have. In the two years since we met, we have built a beautiful blended family, a home, and a life that I once had a hard time imagining for myself and my children. Our relationship is still young, but what we’ve created together has already taken us into territory neither of us could have reached alone, and definitely couldn’t have achieved if we both not only decided that we deserved it, but deserved to do it with someone by our side.

Breaking ground isn’t always about being the first person to do something. Sometimes it’s about entering a new chapter of your life and building something that didn’t exist before; about creating the life you once weren’t sure was possible. This is one of the first things that comes to mind when I think about how breaking ground applies to my life. But themes are rarely singular. In this series, we explore the many ways a single idea can be interpreted – through literature, art, experience, and the world around us. 

Read An Upheaval by Anton Chekhov and think about the following:

Breaking ground

Social class and moral decay 

The price of personal sovereignty

The illusion of respectability

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Write from experience: Think of a time when you entered unfamiliar territory. Maybe you started something new, challenged an expectation, changed direction, or built something you once thought was out of reach. Write about what happened and what it taught you.

Write creatively: Write about a character who is standing at the edge of something they’ve never done before. What are they leaving behind, what are they moving toward, and what happens when they finally take the first step?

Write without boundaries: What does “breaking ground” look like in a world entirely of your own making? Write a poem, short story, or piece of flash fiction inspired by the theme.

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My own examples of breaking ground have mostly involved beginning something new. But breaking ground doesn’t always mean starting from scratch. Sometimes it means drawing a line, shattering a tradition, or reclaiming your dignity, as we see in An Upheaval.

Perhaps that’s what I find most interesting about the idea of breaking ground. There isn’t one way to do it. 

We can break ground by creating.

We can break ground by questioning.

We can break ground by venturing somewhere unfamiliar.

We can break ground by challenging what has always been accepted.

We can break ground by becoming someone – or building something – we never imagined possible.

And maybe your version of breaking ground looks nothing like mine. So, what does it mean to you?

May your choices always lead you to greener pastures!

Paige Turner

Did one of these prompts lead you somewhere interesting? If you like what you’ve written, consider submitting it to the upcoming issue of The Modern Folio Quarterly.