A story we aired this past weekend reminded me of my childhood dream. We talked to Stephens City resident, Crystal Flood, about her new children’s book called I Fell on my Angel. Flood says she's wanted to be a children’s author for almost two decades and finally fulfilled the dream recently when her book was published.

I too wanted to be a children’s author “when I grew up.” I also wanted to be a poet.

I entered a nationwide poetry contest when I was in 5^th grade, and as one of the winners my poem was published in a children’s poetry book. I was so proud. I remember hearing how hard it is to get published, and thought - what a cinch. That was easy.

Turns out, it’s not that easy. I could barely impress my writing professors in college, much less get my work published.

I never really abandoned my childhood dream, but it evolved. While I’m not writing poetry or children’s books, I’m definitely writing. There is a tremendous amount of writing that goes into a newscast. It’s my favorite part of the job. Maybe someday I’ll be able to combine my two loves (writing and journalism) and write a children’s book about what I do for a living.

It's funny how things change as we grow up. I remember my brother desperately wanted to be a trash collector when he was little. Every Monday he would get so excited when the trash truck came by. My mom said he would watch their every move. Now, 25 years later, he's an engineer and an attorney - - not even close to his childhood dream.

A good friend of mine wanted to be a musher when we were little (you know, the people with the sled dogs). She was so passionate about her dream. She wore t-shirts with pictures of dogs on them, talked about going to Alaska all the time, and even considered going to veterinarian school as a transition into the profession of dog musher. She's now in medical school pursuing an entirely different career.