I grew up in a conservative household. My dad was a staunch Republican, so maybe it was a bit inevitable that my brother and I would also end up being conservatives. My Dad loved anything William F. Buckley wrote, especially his "Blackford Oakes" spy novel series. He also loved Ronald Reagan, so it is kind of ironic that Reagan was the first president I was old enough to vote for. 

I started working as a Pharmacy Technician in my twenties. It is a much better job now than when I started. It is much more demanding, but there is also a lot more respect. For many of those years, I worked the evening shift, 2:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. I could sleep in and stay out late. and I did. I was never going to get rich working in Pharmacy, but I could support myself well, and take a vacation here and there. 

Pharmacy was good to me. I made lifelong friends, and I met my husband. But I can remember the day that I literally felt something snap in my head, and I knew that I could not stay in Pharmacy forever. Funny, sometimes the most mundane tasks will make you feel that mental snap. Being a Rush Limbaugh fan, I remembered him saying time and again, figure out what you are passionate about, what you really want to do, then figure out how to make money at it. Granted, the first is way easier said and done than the last. 

I had always had an interest in politics and at this point, blogging was the thing to do. So I started blogging. I told my husband that I was just going to follow my nose and see where it would lead me. I guess I was lucky, a few people thought I was a good writer because they brought me on to write for their sites. My "nose" also led me to go back to college at age 52 and I got my degree in Communications/Journalism from Regent University in 2022. My first paid writing job was at The Political Insider. It is a small independent website, but I met amazing people, including Rusty Weiss, RedState's newest columnist. I learned so much there; as they say, all those things you don't learn in class.

I got laid off from The Political Insider in December of 2022. It is much more financially hard to be independent in this business, and money was tight. RedState Editor extraordinaire Susie Moore was a Facebook friend and we had a mutual friend in local St. Louis radio host Chris Arps. I decided to message Susie to see if Red State was looking for help. Much to my eternal gratitude, she said, "Send me a sample of your work." 

Again, somebody thought I had what it takes. Warning, here's the part where I tear up. For the first time in my life, I absolutely love what I do. I am passionate about politics and the future of our nation, especially now. I love feeling like what I write makes a difference, even if it is only to one person. I wake up every morning looking forward to going to work, and I realize how lucky I am to be able to say that. 

I want to be able to contribute as much as I can. I think I will be able to do that just by watching my amazing colleagues. I hope one day to have the speed, efficiency, and talent of Nick Arama. I can only hope to be as eloquent as Ward Clark. I tell myself I am working on it. In the meantime, as many of my colleagues have said, I plan on being around for RedState's 30th and 40th anniversaries as well. And even though I have probably done it until they roll their eyes, I will never find the words to express how grateful I am to Jen Van Laar and Susie Moore for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. I have never had any other job where I wanted to be the very best I could be more than this one. Happy Birthday, RedState! Here's to many more!