Someone mentioned the word obstacle this morning and it got me to thinking. Looking back at the obstacles I have faced over the last few years, I find that the each bump has forced me to go in a different direction. That direction cut my travel time down, kind of like hitting a detour that isn’t longer than your actual route (I know that’s stretching it a bit). Two years ago I was desperately seeking new employment. I applied for numerous jobs that I possessed the skills to be successful at, yet they weren’t places where I would find joy. I was in the running for a different position with my current employer, but was passed over. I was depressed, and started to lose faith in my abilities. Thank God I did not find a job at that time, because I would have never applied at the college I am now attending, taking courses that make me smile, and sometimes even skip. It would have taken me longer to get to the place I am today. I am a full time student, and next semester I will be studying children’s literature, poetry, philosophy, Italian and short story writing. Compare that to scheduling volunteers and organising fundraisers. I am glad I hit that boulder in the middle of the road. I am taking a road less traveled, but the view is spectacular.
● About Me
I wrote and published my first blog post on May 26, 2009. I was about to turn 36 and had been accepted to Mount Holyoke College as a non-traditional student, on my way to completing a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Medieval Studies. I had managed, finally, to know what general direction I was traveling. As a self proclaimed voracious reader I knew that I needed a vocation that would allow me to engage daily with words: reading words, writing words, and hearing words. I also needed to eat, so I navigated my way to a teaching position and I began to fine tune my craft. I love to teach and I love my students, but I also needed to continue to hone my own literary technique, voice, and style. I continued my education in order to delve deeper into literature, making connections, and most definitely, writing. I gained more confidence as a reader as well as a writer of both creative and analytical text. That first blog post in 2009 is short, the writing average, and the topic mundane, but as I continued to learn from other writers I began to understand that to become a better writer I needed to write more. Each time I write and release a poem, a post, or a story, I hone my skills. I invite you along for the ride, for this journey of mine as I attempt to wrangle a wealth of ideas and competing directions into an organized freshly paved path to publication. I might get distracted along the way, but sometimes those detours lead us to amazing views and new friends.
Laura Smith Writer 
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