We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marie Hall a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Marie, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience evolved from raising six children without my parents or extended family nearby. When support wasn’t available, I had to create my own. You build your family and your community when life doesn’t hand one to you. But I also didn’t learn resilience from a book or a seminar—
I learned it from the land.
From the mornings when I opened the gates at Wondering Woods Farm before school, mud on my boots, feed buckets in my hands, determination in my mind.
From the seasons when everything looked like it was falling apart, and we chose to build something beautiful anyway.
There were days when the county paperwork stacked higher than the animal feed we were hauling.
Days when storms wiped out our plans.
Days when funding was nowhere in sight.
Days when the vision felt too heavy for one person to carry.
Through all of it, patience became my quiet strength.
Not the kind where you sit still and wait for a savior—
I never did that.
I waited by working.
All the things I could do without money, without approval from the county, without anyone’s permission—I did them.
I worked nonstop.
That same fire still drives me today.
And there was another truth fueling me:
I couldn’t wait for someone else to fix what I saw happening to children and families.
The disconnection.
The dissociation.
The emotional numbness.
The system that pulls children away from nature, meaning, and each other.
I didn’t want to wait for someone else to finally see the problems or decide it was time to act.
If we wait, entire lifetimes of children are affected—and our society has needed a change for far too long.
Once I saw it clearly, I couldn’t unsee it.
And once you see the truth, you either step forward or you look away.
I chose to step forward.
And yes—I had a choice about whether to quit.
Walking away would have meant losing everything I had poured myself into:
the land I had worked and slaved over,
the families depending on me,
the home my business partner relied on,
and the belief—held by more than one person—that I would fail.
That pressure didn’t break me.
It charged me.
It ignited something fierce and unwavering inside me.
I could not fail.
I would not fail.
I built Mindful Journey Academy the same way I built the farm—
one fence post, one trail, one conversation, one child at a time.
My resilience grew out of necessity, yes—but it also grew intentionally.
In the quiet moments between chores.
In the laughter of children under the pines.
In the conviction that if a place feels like home to you, you must build it so others can find home there too.
Every obstacle strengthened the roots of this work.
Every challenge reminded me:
If the mission is true, you don’t give up—
you grow deeper.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am the Founder and Director of Mindful Journey Academy, a nature-based, Waldorf-inspired K–8 learning community located on our family’s Wondering Woods Farm in Conway, South Carolina. What began as a small idea—creating a place where childhood could breathe and be free—has grown into a vibrant school, a farm ecosystem, and a movement toward reconnecting children with nature, meaningful work, and community.
But if I’m being completely honest, I didn’t start MJA because everything was going well in education.
I started it because the system is failing—and children are paying the price.
For years I watched bright, curious kids lose their spark. Some of the children who come to us were once so disconnected, anxious, or discouraged that they had simply stopped learning. They were left behind—not because they lacked ability, but because they didn’t fit inside the narrow lanes of a system that rewards the top 5% and quietly sidelines the rest.
These are children who were punished for not learning fast enough…
children who were excluded from field trips because they weren’t “performing” well enough…
children who received no praise, no encouragement, and no meaningful connection from the adults who were supposed to guide them.
Some were struggling under screens, devices, and constant digital demands that overwhelmed their senses and shut down their natural curiosity. I’ve had parents come to me in tears, agreeing to let us help their children detox from technology because the constant digital noise had taken over their childhood.
At MJA, we do something radically different:
We show them that being unplugged is more than okay—
it is powerful.
It is worthwhile.
It gives them their childhood back.
Here, children don’t sit and watch the world happen.
They make things happen.
They build, create, cook, grow, and discover.
People all over don’t just watch them—they watch their confidence rise.
Professionally, I’m focused on building an educational model that blends experiential learning, outdoor immersion, farm stewardship, and mindful, heart-centered teaching. Our students learn through story, seasons, movement, and hands-on work: tending animals, gardening, cooking, fiber arts, building trails, and exploring the world around them. The farm is the classroom. The land is the teacher. And the children are active participants in their own growth.
What excites me most about this work is watching children come alive—seeing confidence bloom when they build something with their own hands, listening to their creativity unfold during storytelling, or witnessing how deeply they care for the animals they raise. Our brand is built on the belief that childhood should be unhurried, connected, creative, and real. That learning is not meant to be confined to four walls. That community and nature are not extras—they are essential.
Mindful Journey Academy is special because it is built entirely with intention. Every trail, every outdoor classroom, every festival, every program grew out of a desire to honor the whole child and strengthen the bond between school, family, and land. We’ve built everything—from the tipis and bell tents to the goat enclosures and forest trails—literally from the ground up. We’re also growing in exciting new ways.
This year, we launched:
* The Restoration Barn, a hands-on mechanics and auto-restoration program where students learn real skills while restoring a 1964½ Mustang and a vintage dune buggy.
* The Nesting Place, our parent-child program for early childhood.
* Farm Days and seasonal festivals that welcome our community into the rhythms of nature.
* A hybrid model that allows families more flexibility while preserving the integrity of our in-person nature school.
We are also expanding our events and experiences at Wondering Woods Farm, including concerts, lantern walks, workshops, and multi-day camps. Everything we do is meant to strengthen community, deepen connection to the land, and give families a place where their children are seen, loved, and allowed to grow at a meaningful pace.
At the heart of my brand is a simple vision: Rooted in Earth, Rising with Heart.
I want families to feel that when they step onto our land. I want children to carry that sense of belonging with them long after they’ve grown. T his work is not just a school, or a farm, or a program. It is my life’s purpose—and watching it take shape, with the help of a beautiful community, has been the greatest journey of all.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Vision — Seeing What Doesn’t Exist Yet Mindful Journey Academy started as a picture in my mind long before it existed on the land. Vision is the ability to hold onto something that no one else can see yet—and to trust that it deserves to become real.
Advice:
Protect your vision fiercely in the early stages. Write it down, speak it out loud, and surround yourself with even one or two people who can hold the picture with you. Vision grows stronger when it is shared, but only with those who understand its purpose.
2. Resilience — Building Through the Hard Seasons
Starting a nature-based school and farm from scratch meant facing obstacles that would have stopped me years ago. Zoning challenges, weather setbacks, financial uncertainty, endless paperwork—resilience wasn’t something I “had.” It was something I built, one challenge at a time.
Resilience has also meant learning not to shrink into the world’s small expectations. If you want to change a system—especially education—you have to be willing to stand in the “why,” even when others can’t see it yet. You must hold steady in the storm so others can eventually see the lighthouse.
Advice: Resilience is not toughness. It’s softness with endurance. It’s the ability to bend, not break. When things feel overwhelming, don’t quit—break the challenge into the smallest next step, and take that step with intention. Momentum builds courage.And laughter is healing. Laugh often. Cry too. It works itself out as long as you are moving forward.
3. Boldness & Boundaries — Learning to Lead Without Shrinking
This is a quality I had to grow into. In the beginning, I tried to do everything myself. I didn’t value my time. I didn’t understand my worth. I stayed late, filled every gap, cleaned up after others, and protected everyone else while forgetting myself. I didn’t have expectations because I wanted people to like me, trust me, and believe in the dream.
But I learned an important truth:
If you give everything away, it loses its value. If you don’t value your own work, no one else will.
Becoming bold meant setting boundaries. Holding staff accountable. Expecting follow-through. Trusting others enough to carry part of the mission—but not shrinking when they didn’t. I started gentle and real, but over time I learned that balance is essential. I had to stop second-guessing myself after deep contemplation and begin trusting the wisdom I’ve earned.
Advice: Don’t shrink to fit anyone’s expectations of who you should be. Your voice, your mission, and your time matter. Give generously, but not at the expense of losing yourself. Stand boldly in the work you were called to do. The world needs leaders who are both kind and unwavering.
In closing community-building is the skill that makes everything else possible.
Everything at Mindful Journey Academy has been built with hands, hearts, and help—from parents and teachers to neighbors, farmers, artists, and supporters who believed in our mission before it was even visible. Community-building is not an accessory to this work; it is the engine that makes it all move.
It is a skill: inviting people in, communicating clearly, honoring their gifts, and creating a place where they feel belonging and ownership. I wouldn’t be here without the countless people who showed up, leaned in, and helped build this dream board by board, trail by trail, festival by festival.
Advice: Tell people your mission. Show them why it matters. Open the door and let them in. The right people will meet you where you are, and together you can grow something far bigger than you ever imagined. Community is not just support—it is momentum, movement, and the way small ideas become whole worlds for children.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Absolutely. Mindful Journey Academy and Wondering Woods Farm are built on collaboration, and we are calling in people who feel aligned with creating real, conscious change now—not “someday,” not “when things slow down,” but now. We have the land.
We have the vision.
And with the right partners, the ripple effect could transform not only our community, but the way education and healing are approached in the Southeast.
We are especially looking to collaborate with:
• Conscious Investors & Visionaries
People who can see what we’re building and understand the long-term impact. With financial partners, we can create:
– a Healing & Wellness Center that multiple practitioners can use
– additional outdoor classrooms
– a woodworking and blacksmithing studio
– expanded farm facilities
– and buildings that will allow us to serve high school students, college students, and adults seeking vocational and wellness programs.
We want partners who are ready to be part of this movement in a real, meaningful way—not with hesitation or excuses, but with heart, clarity, and purpose.
• Nature-Based Educators & Teaching Artists
Storytellers, handwork teachers, fiber artists, musicians, gardeners, foragers, mechanics, woodworkers, environmental educators, mindfulness teachers, and anyone rooted in experiential or Waldorf-inspired learning.
If you teach something real, something rooted in skill, nature, or the human spirit—we want to meet you.
• Community Partners & Local Businesses
Food trucks, musicians, farmers, therapists, craftspeople, herbalists, and local organizations who want to join our festivals, markets, retreats, and community events.
We are also building the Healing Center and welcome practitioners who want to share that space.
• Volunteers, Mentors & Skill-Sharers
People who love working outdoors, supporting children, caring for animals, maintaining trails, building, crafting, restoring vehicles, or teaching a trade.
If you have knowledge—there is a child here who would love to learn it.
• Donors & Supporters
Individuals or groups who believe in unhurried childhood, land-based education, community-rooted schools, and healing work. Your support directly creates spaces where children and families can thrive.
For over a hundred years, public schools have been designed to create factory workers—children trained to sit still, follow orders, memorize, and comply. But the factories are gone. Outsourced. Automated. And now we’re watching our children struggle, shut down, and in too many cases, lose their spark—or their lives—inside systems that were never built for who they truly are.
Every child is born a genius, an explorer, a builder, a storyteller, a scientist.
The system squeezes them into boxes, pushes them to keep up with a race that goes nowhere, and leaves them with diplomas but no real skills, no confidence, and no sense of purpose.
It does not have to continue.
Join us.
Help us build something different—something human, something healing, something worthy of the next generation.
Once this model is fully built, we will help others create many more communities like ours—places where children grow up connected to the land, to each other, and to themselves. Places where they learn real skills, develop real confidence, and become the kind of adults our world actually needs.
If you feel that tug in your heart, that fire that says “something must change,” then you are already part of this movement. Come stand with us.
How to Connect
If someone reading this feels called to collaborate, support, invest, or simply begin a conversation, they can reach me through our school website or email me directly. We love meeting people who want to add something beautiful to our growing community—people who want to build something lasting, something healing, and something that truly sets people free.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mindfuljourneyacademy.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfuljourneyacademy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MindfulJourneyAcademy/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-hall-54434848/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mindfuljourneyacademy
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/wondering_woods_farm/
