Wherever you go, there you are...

So you say it's your birthday?
Well, it's my birthday, too, yeah!

An interesting topic popped up at a recent "girls night out" with my girlfriends from high school.

"Are you where you thought you'd be?"

Of course, we were all in the bar, and that's where we had planned to gather.

But the question delved into more than just physical location.

We were talking about life in general.

If found it amusing how each of us had the same answer: No.

One friend said she never imagined she would be divorced and remarried.

Another said she never thought she would be living so far away from her hometown.

The other never imagined she'd one day compete (and win) a body-building competition.

And while I always knew that I'd be a writer, I never imagined the road I would travel in my personal life.

In my high school journal on graduation day, I wrote that I intended to be a published author in five years.

Heh, heh.

I'm almost 12 years past deadline.
No. I'm not where I thought I'd be. And I never would have imagined learning or experiencing what I have in the past 12 year.

I never imagined that my first paid gig as a writer would be penning obituaries. (I've done more than 5,000.)
I never realized the character a writer needs to develop within him/herself in order to develop a character on a page.

I never realized how thick a writer's skin needs to grow in order to take and use the criticism given by those who are one step farther along in the game.

And the one thing that surprises me most of all is how terrifying it can be to stretch out your hand and reach for those lofty goals.

I mean, what if?