It's quite common to casually ask children what they want to be when they grow up. I remember then, as I do now, thinking that was a very confusing question. The only answer I could ever come up with as a child was that I wanted to grow up to be a hermit. It was always laughed at, but I'm not sure I've ever felt more sure of anything.
I eventually learned that was no longer an appropriate answer, so I stopped telling anyone that all I wanted to do was live alone in the woods with a bunch of animals. I wrote stories about isolated, animal-filled utopias, and imagined fantasy worlds for myself.
Once out of high school, I got as close to being a hermit as I could at that point in my life. I lived in the middle of the South African bush in a dilapidated tent, rehabilitating baboons. I returned to the states eventually to attend Bennington college, an extremely small liberal arts school in the middle of the mountains of Vermont. Luckily during that time I was able to several times escape back to tents and non-human primates. Now in my late 20s, while a huge part of me wants to be back isolated in a tent with some monkeys, I'm trying really hard to find a balance of that lifestyle with the things that make me happy here (mostly my pets....).
Through my years in the mainstream workforce, I've found that the stress in a full time, emotionally exhausting job doesn't leave me with enough energy after staying sane and positive around people at work all day to then enjoy my time outside of work.
So I'm trying to find a way to fall back on some of my other talents in an effort to find a way to support myself that is sustainable to my happiness. As a science and music student through college, and then working in the animal care field, people were frequently surprised to find out that my first job was as an art teacher at a children's theater camp. But in truth, art and creativity have been as big a part of my life as animal sciences.
In an attempt to find a way to support myself through alternate means and begin selling my crafts, I've been beginning to discover the enormous world of social media and blogging. I have never been a heavy user of these outlets for personal social use, so this has been an interesting journey, and I'm still trying to find the niche on the internet that I can relate to (and I welcome suggestions!).
My hope is to post a variety of content here (book and movie reviews, DIY projects, and whatever else I'm doing/working on). I love coming up with new ideas of crafts and designs, so make sure to check out my shop where you can purchase my work directly through me. I also love a challenge and new ideas to try out, so I would love comments or suggestions on anything you would like to see me create or write about!