It’s taken a lot of hard work, but Kevin and I finally have a life we are proud of, even if the things we find meaning in are just our careers, our hobbies, and a small group of close friends.

Everything we have now, I couldn’t have built without the things my mom taught me throughout the full course of my life so far:
– how to be curious about the ways other people live
– how to not only do the job better than everyone around me, but to also be kind while doing it
– how to consider every person affected by my decisions, even when they are not in the room, and then act in everyone’s best interest
– how to build a community that I can rely on in the event of a prolonged emergency.

It was even her work in the medical field that inspired my taking an abrupt turn into the hard sciences from my background in writing. Especially now in the midst of this public health emergency, she has shown me how life-saving the scientific process can be, and that my living true to my idealistic nature didn’t necessarily mean I had to sacrifice my ability to financially support myself to do it.

She’s been the inspiration for my career and my life, and her guiding light has taken me farther than I could ever have dreamed.

Happy birthday, mom! I hope you have the best day ever today!

I love you!