Where do I start? I guess the best place is in the beginning. In the beginning... those words conjure all kinds of imagery: the creation of something beautiful, a new adventure with choices and chance at play and the initiation of a new chapter in life. Music talks about beginnings frequently. Jazz has Cole Porter’s “Begin the Beguine,” in Rock n’ Roll, Jimi Hendrix and Chicago both have songs called “Beginnings” and in Pop, Taylor Swift and Colbie Caillat share the title of “Begin Again.” There are beginnings all around us. They have become a rite of passage for everyone and some beginnings turn out to have fantastic results. A five-year-old riding a two-wheeler for the first time ends up winning the Tour de France. A child given a violin eventually plays for the New York Philharmonic. A mother giving birth to her first child who one day becomes President of the United States. Often the beginning is out of your hands, it is where you go from the start that matters.

My beginning is now. I just started a new chapter in my life by accepting the position to be a content creator of the Middletown, CT community of The Odyssey. This is a position I cherish because I love to write. I remember the first story I wrote. It was titled “Brains Over Brawn” and it concerned a boy who was being bullied. He and his friends had finally had enough. They devised a plan to get even by using their brains instead of their fists. It was a story that earned me an A and since that time, I love to express myself through my writing. It can be a cathartic experience to unload your thoughts and emotions onto a page. The only difference now is that I’ll be sharing it with you.

I can tell you a few things about what to expect. I am going to make you laugh, I am going to make you cry, and most important of all I am going to make you think. Here’s one: when do you begin to become an adult? Some people think it’s when you graduate from

high school. Others will say that when you turn 21, that is the age of maturity. My problem is that I know plenty of people who are “so called” adults that are anything but. I guess there are ground rules to follow but it seems like they are only followed on a part-time basis. For now, I think of myself as a young adult with dreams to fulfill and passions to explore. Everyone has to start somewhere, this is my starting point.