04/23/08

Hi! I joined Helium yesterday, and I wrote my first article yesterday, too. I am very excited about this web site for writers. It is so easy to use. I feel invited to write; I don't feel forced to write. I live in the Southeastern US and work at a community college as an admissions and academic adviser for students. I have also taught English composition courses for years full-time and as an adjunct instructor.

Most of my adult life, I have been a single mother. When my daughter married last year, for the first time in many years, I felt as though I was no longer dancing on hot coals to keep our lives together. Suddenly, I had time to think about the goals, dreams and interests that I had left behind not knowing when or if I would return to them.

After I finished writing my article, I realized that I have many interests and much that I can write about. That awareness gives me hope for my writing and my life as a writer.

My passion is ...

A well written essay

I know too much about ...

overcoming

My parents always told me ...

You can't make a living writing.

My childhood ambition ...

To make a living as a writer

My favorite memory ...

Reading one of my stories to a sixth grade summer school class and having it well received.

Why I write ...

I have stopped trying to answer that question. I just want to make sure I am still able to compose, spell and punctuate.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

I no longer watch TV, although I do have a passion for movies (thanks to Netflix!). I read newspapers, magazines, fiction and non-fiction about Medieval/Western Civ. I still love mysteries and the classics, which I look forward to revisiting.

My first job ...

After college, I enlisted in the United States Navy (1975).

My best moment ...

So far...attending the birth of my granddaughter.

My inspiration ...

Writers who started publishing their work later in life.

Society & Lifestyle > Society & Lifestyle (Other) How to stay positive in such a negative world

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The benefits of staying positive in a negative world may not seem immediately apparent to those who more easily feel the impact of negative events. As a recent convert to staying positive, I can attest to the challenge of the process; however, I can also speak for hanging in there with the process. Don't give up! For you who have come to the awareness that you need to limit the amount of negativity to which you are exposed, but you are not sure where to begin, read on. Also, for those of you for whom trading the light for the dark may feel like a betrayal of your higher intellect, your ...

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