LESSON # 3- DISCUSSION FORUM

      As far back as I can remember, I have always set goals for myself.  I was a child from a single parent household, with a low income.  In order for me to attend college, I had to set a goal and make a plan.  By doing this I was able to complete college with a Bachelor's degree, and then went on to set a plan for my Master's degree.  After I got married, my husband and I began setting  a family plan every year, and together have accomplished many of the goals we had set up for our family.  Over the years, focusing on my family and career took up all my time, so I stopped setting personal goals. Recently, I find myself reflecting back on dreams and goals I had when I was younger.  Unfortunately, some of them have not come to fruition.

    Lately, I've been feeling stuck!  I'm in a job, that I thought was the type of work I wanted to do, and after 11 years with the same company, I am at the top of my profession.  I've got a great husband, two beautiful daughters, and a nice(but modest home.)  Despite having family, friends, essentially a pretty good life, I was still feeling lost.  Where's all the Fun, Excitement and Passion I use to have?  I realized that I had achieved all the standard things that supposedly, define success and happiness, but at the same time I had lost some of the spark and spontaneity that made me the person I wanted to be.  Now I'm setting personal goals that can help me move towards a future that is more relaxing, spiritual and filled with fun and adventure.  This is how I came to WDC. I have always had a passion for writing!  While in college, I believed that I would have a career in journalism, or something in the publishing industry.  Reality has a way of settling in, and when opportunities came by that offered a steady job and a regular paycheck, I went with what was safe.  I've invested more than a decade in my chosen field, but feel like it's time to change.  I'm exploring other career opportunities, and have set a goal to try something new, challenging; something creative.  I have made a plan to learn about the publishing industry, improve my basic writing skills and to get reviews on my short stories.                                       


  What motivates me to do these things stems from my previous experience.  I 've have a history of accomplishing things that initially seemed impossible. My husband and kids remind me that I am an inspiration to them.  Thinking about that keeps me positive, and energized.  The strongest motivation of all is that I don't have anything to prove.  I can take a chance, make mistakes;  who cares.  Writing is fun for me!  Now that I am older and have accomplished some things in life, I'm not as sensitive about my writing as I use to be.  I don't take things to seriously and have learned that one person's opinion is not every ones.