I took my first photograph when I was three, wrote my first story when I was four. I was not a prodigy — I was an only child. You learn to entertain yourself.

Thirty-seven years later, I still find pleasure in storytelling. And now, as we step into the nascent stages of new journalism, there are new tools, new toys, new ways to bring those stories to light. It’s an exciting time. There’s much to learn. And I’m endlessly curious. A tech geek. Mac lover. Former math team/physics team/chess team member. Type A all the way.

I like solving problems. It’s what I do.

When I was 14, newly employed by the Mobile County News, my biggest challenge was finagling my way into the boys’ locker room to get stats from the football coach. As a journalism student at The University of Alabama, I juggled 18-hour semesters while stringing photos for The Crimson White, working full-time at Books-A-Million, and running the campus photo lab. At 26, when I became editor of The Northport Gazette, I learned to function on two hours’ sleep, three pots of coffee, a styrofoam carton of cold Chinese food, and a driving desire to serve my community.

Four years later, in July 2002, I learned to let go. I took an ethical stand that cost my job. My world crashed. But when the tears dried, I realized something — I was still a writer. I would always be a writer.

I founded my freelance writing and photography business — Cloudybright Communications — and never looked back.

These days, I work for publications like Christian Science Monitor and TIME Magazine. I live out of a suitcase. I spend so many nights away from home, I keep a Post-It note by the phone to remind me of where I am. My dog, Cowboy, accompanies me on most trips. It’s a good life. A happy life.

And 22 years after my first byline, it’s still a rush. I couldn’t ask for more.