It's never too late to be what you might have been. -George Eliot

How many times have you wondered when you were going to pursue a dream? Maybe you always dreamed of being a famous writer or had thoughts of one day moving to a big city...If you are reading this your time is not up. When I was a small child I liked being read to. I grew to be a child who enjoyed reading and ultimately someone who wrote stories and poems all day long. In high school math class you might find me appearing to pay attention while I filled a spiral bound notebook with poems. My favorite days were looking out of the window and letting my pen fill in the lines on my note page with the ideas of my mind.

I grew up. I went worked full-time. I received my Bachelor of Arts college degree in Journalism and Public Relations. It was my time to fulfill my dreams and become a writer. However, I received a job offer from a well-known company and took a job as a media buyer. I told myself that media was related to writing so it was ok to settle for this career...I still talked to newspapers...right? Wrong! This was not my dream...I worked very hard and made a decent living but my inner-self longed to write! I began my project of becoming "Who I am" (A children's book writer). Things were going great with my progress and suddenly an opportunity presented itself for a career change for me. I decided to try out Human Resources...made sense...right? Human Resources was not writing but I am a person that loves to talk and this helped me to feed the social aspect of my being. Great! Human Resources...Sure!? Why not. I had fun. I met wonderful people. I honed in on my interviewing skills...already partially developed from Journalism (just different because this was not for newsworthy purposes). Fantastic...I told myself. I am helping people to discover their dreams, I thought. I am making a difference. I get to travel to colleges and help people find internships and learn more about starting their careers. I worked extremely hard and was a great fit for my department. I came up with new processes and perfected our annual event. I was proud of myself.

I was not making the money that I desired but I was doing a great job...and then came Janelle. Janelle is my main character in "Who I am not what I am" (my first book). I developed this lovable character and introduced her to the world through my book. Children at my book signings loved her. Teachers said she was a great role-model. They wanted me to come to their schools and talk about self-esteem and the importance of diversity. Wow! This seemed like my dream. I was confused hadn't I settled on a job in Human Resources? The opportunities continued to flow in. "Please come visit our school and speak to our kids" The teachers said. "We would love for you to come to our summer reading program" the librarians claimed. "When is your next book coming out?" the children said.

My job was getting in the way of my destiny and so I quit. I became my destiny. I listened to the longing in my heart and took control of my career and my life. I became me.

Writing is "Who I am". Who are you? Are you pursuing it? You only get one chance. It's never too late. If you're dream is to develop your writing skills and/or to become published, I'd love to see you at my Creative Writing Workshop on this Saturday from 10-12. Novi Public Library. I am also signing books at "As the Page Turns", Northville, MI. 48167.

Read something good...write something better and dream something that will come true!

-Tara Michener