I grew up in the moderately sized town of Gainesville, Florida. Though my parents didn't divorce until I was 14, my four siblings and I were raised almost exclusively by my mother. I left for college four years later — a move that proved to be a bit premature. Shortly after leaving Florida State, I enlisted in the U.S. Army, where at 22 I met and married my husband. Without going into too many details about the dissolution of the union, I will say that if ever two people did not match up, we were them. I was not who he wanted, and he was not who I needed. Three years later — March 2003 — our divorce became final.

By mid-April, I was on the road to California to start over and rebuild my life. San Francisco and the rest of the bay area really agreed with me, and it didn't take long before I was employed and on my way to being happy. I tried everything I could while I was there: dance-lessons, kickboxing, skiing, kayaking, you name it. After a year of working hard — at two jobs, for a time — I found myself wanting to go back to school.

I enrolled at a local community college where, after almost 10 years of not thinking academically, I received the challenge I was looking for. I was allowed the opportunity for my curiosity to run wild through the halls of the institution.

Currently, I find myself in New York City, and attending Columbia University, where I am finishing my last semester as sociology major. I'm enjoying time spent in class, with friends, and most of all, with myself, as I've rediscovered the fabulous person that I am while embarking on this journey, and I look forward to the gifts brought to me each day in the rising of the sun.