Three Things

Since I was tagged about, oh, two weeks ago by my buddy Ted (@onpnt) I figured I should really get around to writing another blog post. It's been too long. I really enjoyed the holidays with my little ones and many family members, but now it's time to focus again. What can I say? I hit a slump, but now I'm over it.

The question on the table currently is: What Three Things brought you to where you are today? While this can have many interpretations, I offer the following for myself.

One. Being a kid of a single parent. I grew up fast. Way too fast. My parents divorced by the time I reached 5 years old. My mom struggled. Hard. I took on a lot of responsibilty helping her out with my little sister almost immediately. Being a single mom in the '70's was not a supportive environment. Companies didn't want to hire her, landlords didn't want to rent to us. We moved. A LOT. I packed, unpacked, changed schools and made new friends - over and over again. But somehow we got by. We had fun without having any money. She gave her all to make sure her daughters grew into strong, capable women. I learned a lot from my mother's experiences: some things I vowed to never allow to happen to myself and other things to use as shining examples of how I wanted to shape my life.

Two. Failing my Freshman year of college. Yes, it's true. I was a straight-A student in High School. I knew I was going to college, I had a full ride scholarship to prove it, plus an appointment to the Air Force Academy. When the Air Force told me I was too short to pilot (or even to navigate), I said "Thanks, see ya". So, I went to college with my friends and probably dealt with some form of depression. I certainly wasn't aware of it at the time, I just didn't know what to do now that I wouldn't be a pilot or in the Air Force. Taking Engineering courses made me realize that even though I was a smart cookie, I certainly wasn't up to the level of these other kids who grew up with computers in their homes. So, I switched colleges (two more times, but hey, that was no big deal to me) and finally settled on a degree in Psychology. I found the field fascinating, and after my life experiences thus far, it sure seemed to fit well. Obviously, that path wasn't meant to be either, but that's another blog post. My achievement of being in the Honor Society for Psych was a nice reward, too.

Three. Dance. I started studying dance in 1989. Yes, that's more than 20 years ago now. I have had an incredible journey which provided a frame of self-discipline and artistry at the same time. I have made numerous friends. We all need a creative outlet and I was overjoyed to find mine. I never wanted to do anything but study and learn for many years. It wasn't until almost 10 years later that someone convinced me to step up onto the stage. Oh, don't get the wrong idea - I had done plays and things over the years, even some public speaking, but I had never shared something that I had created myself. The rest, as they say, is history. I have my own dance company and we will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary next year!

Really the key to all the things listed above is Family and Friends. I was always fortunate to have an incredibly supportive family. While friends come and go, there are many who have touched my life and helped me get to where I am today. For those still with me - thank you! For those I'm yet to meet - Hope you're ready for a fun ride!