I was a child in the 80s, teenager in the 90s, and reached adulthood in the Millennium—the only child between a DCI Special Agent and Spanish Teacher.

1983

My parents divorced when I was a toddler but both remarried so I have a younger half-brother (Jacob) and three older step-siblings. Fun Fact: Jacob was an actor in Hollywood for 5 years after he won Actor of the Year at the 2006 YMTA competition in New York against 3,000 actors, models, dancers and singers–and received 3rd runner up total!

As a child, I was the dreamer. I always carried a book, pen, and notebook because I spent my free time reading, writing stories, and anything to use my imagination or ponder life. I was already thinking about the mysteries of the universe and wanting to know “who” people really were. My interest in genealogy really began back then as I was obsessed with looking at family photos and asking relatives questions about my ancestors. I wanted to learn every person’s life story. I had a subscription to Biography magazine and a stack of VHS tapes with TV biographies that I recorded on my VCR. I was sensitive, empathetic, curious, and intuitive.

As a teenager, I was quiet and introverted, loved music, had a lot of dark times but was strong spiritually, and I looked at life as a journey for growth (which I still do). I noticed that most people seemed to be focused on the here & now and were ok with the superficial, so I felt different because, well, I was already thinking about my future kids’ mental health LOL! I’ve always preferred to be independent - but with a few close friends as human connection is important to me. I received good grades but had to work hard. I wasn’t going to be put in a box so was in a variety of activities (literary magazine, cheerleading, band, theater, speech contests and several other clubs).

1994

2003

As an adult, I married at 23, adopted two maltipoos at 25 & 26, had my son at 28, and my daughter at 31. My male dog died when I was 38 and we adopted two cats when I was 39 & 40. My female dog passed away on my 42nd birthday and we adopted our final pet (a third cat) 7 months later.

2014

Finally, I’m an INFJ so I don’t need to be doing things or going places to be content; I am happiest when taking walks, meeting friends for coffee to have heartfelt conversations, and researching new topics to learn about (my archetype is “researcher” so I must always be studying something)! I’ve also been known to get lost in a good movie or TV show because anything to strengthen empathy is positive in my opinion. Oh - one last thing - you might notice that my hair is my aesthetic so I like to change it up :)

For more about being an INFJ and Researcher click here.

2024