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Language and words were my first love. I began reading early, shortly after my fourth
birthday, and literally haven't stopped since. I began to enjoy writing creatively a few years later, around the fourth
grade. At the time, teachers were amazed at the quality of what I wrote. Some accused me of plagiarism because
they could not believe that I had produced the work that I turned in. One teacher in particular wrote a scathing
letter to my mother accusing me of doing just that, to which my mother wrote her own response the next day. She assured
this teacher that my work was indeed my own, and that the teacher should assign more impromptu in-class
essays, making sure to gather up the resulting papers from the students before we left her classroom.
As my mother was also a veteran teacher, my instructor took her advice. She set for us not one,
but at least four different in-class essays that week. Fortunately, the other students had
no idea that this was my fault! I, however, was more than happy to do what I loved during classtime.
The accusations immediately stopped.
I enjoyed writing creatively for writing's sake. I could get lost in fiction or non-fiction with equal ease,
blissfully passing hours at a time. I would entertain my younger sisters with stories and illustrations that I would
create when we couldn't go outside to play due to bad weather or the occasional cold.
Most of my peers thought that anyone who would voluntarily read literary classics, let alone encyclopedias
and dictionaries for fun, rather than go outside, was more than just a little odd, and their
disapproving comments caused me to become introverted and shy. My friends tended for the most part to be other avid
readers. Even now, I'm happiest reading and writing.
It took several years for me to gradually emerge from my shell. Once I decided to ignore the taunts
of other students, whom I came to realize didn't perform as well in school, I began to feel more confident just being my 'own
unique self'. By the time high school ended, I had participated in several extra-curricular clubs and had become popular
among the more ambitious students.
Upon entering college, I had no doubt that I would be tackling the corporate world in four years or so.
While a University student, I did some acting and worked as a model part-time. The money was decent (when work was available),
and at one time, I had three agents. I told myself that this would help me relate better to my clients when I worked
in Entertainment Law or perhaps Entertaiment Financial Management after graduation.
I was still a decade or so away from acknowledging to myself that underneath my aspiring corporate exterior
lived a writer who would never be truly content being anything less. I thought of writing as a beloved hobby, nothing
more. Professors advised me, as had several instructors in grade school and in high school, to seriously consider a
career as a professional writer. To turn my favorite activity into a career, I believed at the time, would add
unwanted anxiety and also pressure that would "ruin it" for me. I couldn't have been more wrong in that assumption.
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Taking a break from work
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What a job!
Although I can't speak for other writers, it seems that even when I'm not writing, a part of my brain is still working---on
alternate plot lines, metaphors, imagery, settings, characterizations, poetry, article topics, etc. I even dream
new storylines! The reasons I began to meditate daily included not only to deal with that bane of modern living...stress,
but also to cultivate a quieter, more peacefully centered mind in which to create the things that I'm always composing.
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A Few of My Favorites:
*Spending time with family and loved ones, especially my husband and children.
*Spending quiet time alone--usually reading or writing (or thinking about either!)
*Watching movies.
*Listening to music (often while reading or writing!)
*Studying foreign languages and cultures.
*Drawing, painting, or sketching.
*Visiting botanical gardens and scenic parks.
*Browsing in bookstores and doing research in libraries.
*Going to museums, listening to a symphony orchestra, or watching a classical ballet.
*Seeing any of my favorite musical artists live in concert (my tastes are very eclectic, ranging from
classical, oldies, jazz, r&b, pop, rock, and yes, heavy metal!)
A Few of my Dislikes:
*Snobbery and bigotry. (I spent my entire educational life at exclusive private schools
and grew up in a country club community, so I'm not impressed. People are just people! Blind assumptions and stereotypes are
almost always incorrect, and your zip code cannot automatically make you a better human being.)
*Hypocrites and manipulators. You're not fooling anyone, even though perceptive people may never tell you outright
that they know what you are.
*Closed-minded individuals (i.e.- those who stubbornly refuse to examine other points of view or different ideas because
they perhaps secretly fear they may be inclined to change their minds). After all, how do you know what you believe
in until you have thoroughly analyzed who you are as an individual and all the facts available on any
given topic? Once you have done so, you may decide that your old paradigm was best for you after
all....then again, you might not. Knowledge and Truth shouldn't be feared, and in the age of information "ignorance
is a voluntary misfortune".
*Perpetual pessimists. You know the type: this is the "...my life sucks, the world's unfair, nobody likes
me, and I hate everyone"-sort of person. These people usually love to take up as much of your time as possible complaining
about their, or someone else's, misadventures--- not just on occasion, but every time they cross your path! Such people
can wipe out your energy just by being around them. Don't give them that kind of power over you. Set boundaries
with them. You get out of life whatever you're willing to put into it.
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