THE life altering moment for me was...

I believe everyone starts out with a passion for something. When you were a child was there something that you really enjoyed doing?

I know that when I was in about 4th or 5th grade I realized I had a talent for drawing. Once I figured this out I drew as much as I could. I still have a small box in my basement with some of my first drawings.

For a number of years I planned to go to art school...study commercial art, photography, or maybe interior design...something...anything in the art world. I had this little dream in my head--a vision of what my life would be like. I would someday have a big old house that I renovated and the top floor would be my studio. You can even ask my best friend...she'll tell you how we talked about my dream when we were in high school.

Then one day...yes this ONE LIFE ALTERING day--actually it wasn't even a day...it was a MOMENT. In this one moment I heard someone say, "I was thinking about going to art school and studying interior design, but I decided against that. With a job like that when the economy gets bad then you can't find any work." Translation...she feared becoming a 'starving artist.'

Well, guess what. This quick statement...these few short seconds in my life...changed my entire life course. I thought, "Oh my God!! She's right!" It was at that moment that I decided that I couldn't go into any art field because I would just end up as a starving artist.

So I went to college and got my degree in business.

Do I regret that decision? Not really. Every job I had...no matter how menial...taught me something about myself and about other people. I always worked at jobs where I had to deal with the public which I sincerely enjoyed. I learned how to handle the customer and the importance of top notch customer service...something I now deal with on a daily basis.

So I have no regrets about having my business degree.

I feel badly that because of this life altering decision I missed out on a number of years of using my creative spirit and focusing that energy on what I truly love doing. But I don't have regrets. Life takes us on a journey and we have to take each moment as it comes and know that we are experiencing these moments for a reason. We must examine each experience and learn from them and make ourselves better. We can come back full circle if we open our minds and let our true selves come through.

Just my thoughts...more to come!

Jane