For better or worse, what was the biggest turning point in your life?

It would have to be the birth of my daughter. Before her, I was career track and saw myself as only that way. I did the career thing for a very long time (long enough for people to stop asking me when I was having kids.) I had a really tough time understanding how anyone would give up a career to be home with kids when women work so hard to be taken seriously in the workforce.

Now that I have her, I really see how wonderful my life is now. I have to admit it was pretty good before but in a different way, more carefree. I'm still working on my career but I have had to shift focus and my identity in order to be successful both as a mom and a writer/educator.

She comes first but I my identity can't be that of just her mom. I have to have an identity outside of thatIn fact. This has given me the chance to do what I wanted to do before but I never allowed myself the time to do it going from one job to another.

I want to be successful as both a career woman and a mom and not regret some points of either later on (like I gave up my dream job to be a mom or I gave up my child to have my dream job...etc. ) It's tough to balance both, but that is another challenge that she has brought along. I have learned so much more about myself and my abilities since having her that I think might have stayed hidden had she not come along.

Leaving my first husband. I was terrified and unsure of myself from all the years of abuse but I knew it was something I had to do for the good of my family. It was worth all the worry and hard times to get to where I am now.

:).

Moving to Arizona and proving that I could be independent. I believe my family expected me to come running back to them and say, I can't do this. I can't live 2000 miles away from you.

But I did it and I am a much happier person due to the move.

Meeting my husband. Cheesy, I know, but this singular act sent my life in an entirely different, and forever altering, direction.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.