Sitting on my desk would be protraits of my oldest niece Haley and my twin niece and nephew, Emily and Ethan. My parents, Jimmy and Lisa, the old-fashioned couple posing in a granite frame hold my past in their loving hands. Poking his head sneakily around the corner in another picture with a lively young woman, would happen to be Keith, my older brother and Kristie, his wife. Out of all the pictures (don't get me wrong, my whole family means the world to me, but out of all the pictures) none of them seem to be as imporatant as the cluster of candid snapshots scattered across the shelves. Knowing each day an employee of mine will snidely snatch one up and exclaim, "oh how precious these boys are," or "how are you still with your high school sweetheart after all these years and you still are so in love?" Eventhough the remarks come from greedy, ditzy workers, I still smile and leave them with a "thank you."

The few comments I would give during the extremely busy work day would all thankfully end as I drive into heavy five o'clock traffic in the long awaited Cadillac Escalade. Going home always gives me a sense of simplicity away from my love of hectic schedules and web based language, all of it zooming through my brain. Brody, our family golden retriever sits at the front door, waiting for a sign of civilization outside of his protected home. Not calling Petal, Mississippi my home was a huge change but Washington, D.C. holds my dreams in the bustling confines of the dot com business area of downtown. Living in a two-story hide-a-way outside of the nation's capital in Alexandria give my family a sense of security while work is only half an hour away.

My outlook on things is always hoping for the future. Graduating from Petal gave me the boost to reach for the stars. So here I am, seated in heavy work traffic remembering the day I dreamed of all this. It was all spawned from an english assignment in my junior year of high school. Those definitely were the days, and now I'm living my dream.

Maybe I dream and hope too much, but at least I know where I'm headed. Placed before your eyes are my written goals in life, with my family's support. and the memories of earlier days kept in my heart. Get ready to see a success, because I'm definitely busting my butt for the biggest dream I've ever had. Now can you see that short, clean-cut high school student becoming what she believes is her future?