A Little About Me
Even though I had no idea what being a writer meant as a third grader living in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, I think that’s exactly what my young heart wanted to be as I scribbled down short stories on wide ruled notebook paper in my baby blue bedroom. I often hid away there as a child, perfectly content building worlds with my piles of action figures, and of course, with my pen. I also had dreams of being a detective—and that was often my go-to answer when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up.
Detective and writer in training.
Fast forward to college. After vacillating between psych, English, and theatre majors, I was rethinking my dreams, my career, and basically the rest of my life. A strong stirring to leave everything familiar behind and chase something new compelled me to transfer to the University of Georgia halfway through my sophomore year. I didn’t have a plan—all I knew was that I loved people, hearing their stories, and writing about them. Journalism…? Not totally sure what that even is, but that could work!
So I embarked on a journey not so far off from that third grader’s dreams: being a writer and detective. Writing for UGA’s student-run newspaper, The Red & Black, almost knocked me out as I’d crank out multiple stories a week, hiding away in my room once again to interview sources, take scattered puzzle pieces and find patterns, all in an attempt to create something whole, truthful, and good. I was exhausted by the chase, but I was also hooked by it.
After that, the dominos started falling, one amazing opportunity appearing after the next. A travel journalism course in Croatia led to creating and writing my own columns for Paste Magazine, then an internship and freelance gig with Runner’s World. Two weeks after graduating with a journalism degree from UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, I packed up my life and moved to Waco, Texas to team up with the masterminds behind Magnolia. I’ve now worked there for six years, and have spent one of those six years serving as Deputy Editor of Magnolia Journal. A wild ride, indeed.
Even though the nature of my work has evolved over the past nine years of doing this professionally, that curious, detective kid in me has never left. My education and experience have equipped me to take all the complex pieces of us—the memories, facts, questions, fears, and dreams—and craft something meaningful. You already know it but I’ll tell you anyway: you have a story. So let’s link arms and excavate the good stuff together, all in hopes of casting more joy, more hope, and more light into the world.
And we’ll have fun too.
