I am not a political junkie, but I love an interesting story.
Often, that very thing can be found when people share their backstories. Politicians like Robert F. McDonnell included.
McDonnell, who was sworn in is as Virginia’s 71st governor Saturday, wasn’t always a politician with aspirations of living in the state’s executive mansion.
We all were someone or something else before our careers and families took the top spots in our bios.
I was an aspiring artist and teddy-bear-maker longer than I’ve been JM2’s wife or mother to Super G and JM3. I was also a fiction writer with dreams of becoming a novelist before I went the reality route and joined the ever-changing newspaper and multimedia journalism fields.
My connection to my former selves has ebbed and flowed these past decades. But this year, I am making a daily effort to tap into that which shaped and made me happy.
Me, the individual. Me, the woman. Me, the dreamer.
I’m not being less responsible to those I love. I’m simply adding myself to the list.
That aside, it is fascinating to hear how lessons learned on, say, one boy’s concrete football fields, helped guide the plays and journeys of the man he became.
The views expressed on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the positions, strategies or opinions of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
