I’m a Type A, over-achieving first-born who has always found life to be more fulfilling when I push myself to my limits, and make the impossible happen.  I was a shy nerd in high school, who tried out for student government and found myself in front of the entire school, dancing and lip-synching to a song… alone… in Korean.

In college, I was determined to do something great!  I decided to study in Ireland!  I asked my professors, who’d never seen me before, to write me letters of recommendation, a painful task for a shy, now only mediocre achiever.  I wasn’t going to let anything get in my way.  Then, I needed a job to save up for this endeavor.  I applied to the second highest-paying job on campus, and when they called to turn me down, because I was leaving the country in a couple months, I persuaded them to hire me.  I was on fire!

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, I signed up with the Red Cross, took a class, and deployed to Baton Rouge.  That was when I finally knew what I wanted to do with my life.  I wanted to work in disaster response.

When my employer went under, I volunteered with the Red Cross full-time, and made a lot of connections in Emergency Management.  I got an entry-level job in the field I loved, and within a few months, I landed my dream job.  I was finally where I was meant to be.

A few months later, I had my first child, and it was all over.

I loved my job, but I loved being with my child more.  We needed my income, so I painfully went back to work.  And I did it again when I had my second child.  But when my third child came, my world turned upside down, and though not under the best circumstances, I became a stay at home mom.  My life, as I knew it, was changed forever.