When I was a child, I was asked what I wanted to do when I grew up. "Everything," I said. Usually, I'd get requests to be more specific. "Okay, I want to be a teacher scientist writer president actress rock star princess." Often, I was told to choose one but I never could. No one ever told me I could be all of those things. I had to figure that one out for myself.

Since the birth of my children, I took some time off from working so that they could spend their early years in a family-focused environment. This decision gave me an opportunity to take a step back and see what I could accomplish. I had dreams and aspirations and it was as good a time as any to make them come true.

During my time off, I :

-- Traveled to and lived in various nations in Europe (UK, Ireland, France, Spain) and experienced
differences in cultures and people

-- Learned (and continue to learn) Spanish and French

-- Kept up with the latest technologies, social media networks, and computing programs by furthering my education

-- Volunteered to help children to read in the UK

-- Set personal goals for myself and achieved them (like running a marathon)

-- Maintained a 4.0 GPA while caring for young children

Today, I realize why I wanted to be all of those things at once as a child. It was because I needed an outlet for my intelligence, creativity, and passion for improving the quality of everything around me.

Now I am a freelance writer and a fiction writer and I get to be a part of a living, growing project in which a collection of perspectives come together in artistic conversation.