Ever since I was a child, writing has been a fundamental part of who I am. Writing feels more natural to me than speaking, and I have often said that I think through my hands. Although my ideas about what kind of writer I want to be has changed throughout the years, when it comes down to "What do I want to be when I grow up," it always is some kind of writer. It is more than what I do — it is who I am. A tattoo on my ankle is a daily reminder that my goal is to be the light of truth through writing.
I was born in Boston, spent childhood in New Hampshire, and then attended middle school through college in Minnesota. I graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. with a double major in English writing and history/political science and the dream of becoming a newspaper reporter. My first job at a daily newspaper brought me to Florida, where I met and married my husband, and I am now the editor of a local newspaper — a weekly paper for which I write stories, take pictures, lay out the paper and whatever else needs to be done.
After I finally figured out that I like to kiss girls as well as boys (my husband figured it out before I did,) life has been an interesting adventure, as I figure out who I am and how I can embrace this new and beautiful part of me. I am thrilled to be a contributing writer to Creative Loafing's CLGBT section, as these issues are all I have wanted to write about ever since my discovery — and I don't want the senior readership of my regular newspaper to fall over and die by reading about my bisexuality and polyamory. Needless to say, this is a much-needed creative outlet.
This article appears in Jun 17-23, 2010.
