What do you want to be when you grow up? If you had asked me when I was quite young, I would have probably said “international spy, or ninja,” the desire for mystery and adventure was present from a young age. If you had asked me when I was in high school, as I was just about to take one of the first big steps towards “growing up,” I wouldn’t have been able to tell you. All I knew was the pressure from all around me to do something that made money, and NOT to pursue art at all. Beyond a career and making money, there was rarely ever any mention of the person I wanted to be, the underlying characteristics that would define me and how I would show up in my life, for myself and for others. Since then, I’ve experienced a great deal of what life has to offer—I’ve gone to undergraduate school, dated, been married, become a parent, gotten divorced, been a single parent, worked a salaried job in my field, built a small business, traveled a lot, unlearned unhealthy habits and traits, healed from past trauma and gained a great understanding of who I am and how I want to show up in this world. After all of that the one thing that I value the least, beyond the basic necessity, is money. What do I value the most? Who I am, how I treat myself and others, how I raise my son and how I feel in both the most exciting and simplest moments of my life—happy and content. Happy, adventurous, peaceful, kind, loving, care-free and living life with a child-like wonder and silliness are all the things I want to be as I continue the journey of growing up. They’re all the things I want Augie to see, and be, as he grows up too.🤍