When I was a little girl, my fondest memories were when I was in traveling to another world in my imagination. I remember swinging on my swing set. I loved how the wind blew through my hair, and the way the sun shined down from the sky. I would lean back and just look up, imagining what the world was like out there. Sometimes I would hum a song, other times I would pretend I was flying. Sometimes I’d see a plane fly up above through the sky. I would imagine who was on that plane, what their life was like and where they were going. To Alaska? To California? I imagined that someday, I would see the world too.
The quiet woods of northern Wisconsin is an interesting place to grow up. I think it helped me nurture my creative soul. Whether my brother and I were building forts in the woods, or riding our bikes down the road to find a spot to make our own trail, we always found a way to entertain ourselves.
When I didn’t want to be outside anymore, I found myself downstairs watching movies. Top Gun and the Wizard of Oz were two of my favorites. I enjoyed the love story in Top Gun (and Tom Cruise in an pilot’s uniform? Yeah, that was great too). The Wizard of Oz touched me because of Dorothy’s desire to experience more in life, she knew there was more, somewhere over the rainbow. All the magic of Oz inspired me to dream.
Early on in life, I began to write stories of my own. My daddy got a computer, and I would take advantage of the time when no one else was using it to type my stories and plays. Some I shared with others and some I just wrote for myself. Despite some struggles, my childhood was full of life.
I grew up with four older brothers that I adored. I would watch them, and want to be like them – but I was a girl, so I had to find my own way. I watched people, I felt things deeply. Some may say I was an emotional child. Now I know that my deeply felt emotions, ability to understand, and genuine curiosity about people and their story is not because I’m weird, it’s because I am a writer.
I was born a writer. At the age of 31, I’ve finally accepted that fact. There’s no escaping it. I will live my life to create. To share with the world stories that might touch their hearts and make them think about life in a more positive light. Whether it’s simply writing a story, or combining it with images and music to create a film, some kind of magic happens. I’m so in love with creativity. Forever in love.
