Have you ever felt completely helpless? Completely powerless? Or maybe feeling like doing a wrong was in fact doing a right?
That was me, as a shy introverted 4th grader just trying to play wall ball with my friends. It was first recess and we found our normal spot in the safety of the covered basketball courts outside, and began to throw the little rubber balls against the wall. This was where the two junior high school students cornered us. They occasionally wandered onto our campus from the neighboring junior high school for the sole purpose of causing us misery. This particular morning they carried sticks. But, fear not – they weren’t going to beat us. No, something far worse. They intended to humiliate us. A beating would’ve been better because then we could’ve shown what they’d done. As it were, we’d have to carry inside forever what they intended.
When I was born, I had to wear leg braces for the foreseeable future because my hip sockets weren’t formed. While the doctors wanted to do surgery, my parents held out hoping by some miracle, the sockets would form independently and I’d be able to stand, walk, and play on my own. By 18 months, they did and I could! The braces were removed.
I was lucky. But not everyone is. My close friend in 4th grade wasn’t as fortunate as I had been. He still wore the braces and I identified with him on an immensely personal level. That could’ve been me.
So when the junior highers went to put sticks in his braces to prevent him from walking and make him fall, my heart took over and gave me courage where logic failed. Two junior high student bloody noses and a trip to the principals office later, I found myself suspended for fighting and my mom treating me to Diary Queen.
I learned two things that day that have stuck with me:
1) The little guy always seems to get the short end of the stick (no pun intended!).
2) Doing what’s right sometimes wears the guise of wrong.
Now, I haven’t become a lawbreaker since 4th grade but I’ve opened my eyes a little wider and recognized which risks I’m willing to take. I’ve also come to realize as much as the little guy always seems to get a bum deal, he is the most rooted for character in society.
As well he should be.
The story of the underdog has been with me my entire life. As the nice but ‘big girl’ just moved to a new town and school in 6th grade, to a shy yet adventerous young college student traveling the world too trusting in the goodness of others. Not to mention my love and constant heart-pouring into causes from the difficult (Let Lobo Live!) to uphill battles (Wilderness Conservation). I’m a sucker for people and causes that move me.
But while life – my life, your life, everyone’s life – has its ups and downs, my conclusion is always the same: I have a choice. The next move is mine and I can choose what it is and how I approach it.
Personally, I’ve done my best to always choose the path which gives me the most freedom to be who I am, discover who I am, and let me reach my potential while I do so.
And that’s how I came to be here.
I always believed I was a writer. And I am, but after years of trying to do it full-time for others, I realized my true gift to people was pairing it with my innate geekiness. Since I naturally play video games, fiddle around with and on my computer, and learn new technology like it’s already going out of style, how about I match that with writing and see what happens?
The result…..success!
A comprehensive line of products and services I love to provide and others love to receive because they don’t have to do it! It’s like the best meal is the one you don’t have to cook yourself…that’s what I provide! The time and stress-free environment that comes from letting others do the work you don’t have the time or inclination to do. Same with cooking: the tastes are so much richer, the smells much more succulant when you can sit back and enjoy them. While I don’t provide great cooking (I wish!) I get my kicks from delivering excellent products and unmatched service.
I couldn’t be happier to be standing on my own.
I received a Bachelor of Arts from Central Washington University (www.cwu.edu) where I majored in English, minored in Creative Writing and studied Political Science. I am also a certified life coach, graduated and certified through the International Coach Academy, ICA (www.icoachacademy.com).
I spent over a year abroad traveling through 15 countries and learning about other cultures and learning styles. This was an incredible and valuable experience I feel has aided me tremendously in communicating with others and dealing with unique or difficult situations. As time allows I continue to create fictitious worlds for middle graders and young adults to explore.
From 2012 to the present I served on the editing, layout, and now executive committees for the Northwest Women Writers collection of true-stories, titled The Wind Moves the Porch Swing: A Collection of Women’s Wisdom. It is estimated to be published late 2015-2016. In 2014 I became Coordinator of that same organization, Northwest Women Writers (www.northwestwomenwriters.com), and have since enjoyed supporting the amazing women in the group and discovering their vast array of gifts.