Hello Editing 3220 Class

My name is Julie White. I'm currently a Junior with an emphasis in English/Creative Writing. Although I love writing, I've recently discovered that I also enjoy painting and the arts. Perhaps this marriage of two vast interest can merge into one as I'd love to write and illustrate Children's books. My writing skills have certainly improved over the years and I've gained valuable experience by writing blogs, stories, website content and several editorial articles for the Standard Examiner.

Born in Los Angeles, I moved at a young age to Utah and grew up in the South Jordan/Sandy area. I

attended Bingham High School a very long time ago. Several months ago I turned fifty. That means I'm old, really old. Unless you're fifty. Then it doesn't feel that old. In fifty years I've experienced a lot of bumps and bruises and I hope I'm wiser for it. Over the summer I discovered Pickelball. I've heard people rave about it and now I understand why. If you're looking for a goofy sport that's fun and doesn't seem like exercise until you're dripping sweat, give it a try. Every AARP member should play it. My day job is working for a Chiropractor. I'm grateful that I work for him as he keeps me walking straight.

In my younger days I loved the thrill of adventure. I did all kinds of crazy stunts that now

make my hands sweat at the thought. I even sky dived. My greatest adventure that scared me silly happened when I learned to fly a plane. I've learned the hard way that great survival stories come with painful lessons.

My former husband and I didn't get along well. What started out as a great love story slowly crumbled until his depression and abuse made life miserable. Most of the time we lived as roommates. His cycles of depression kept me on my toes. A few times I cried on the phone to a suicide prevention counselor for help when my depressed husband went into a full blown melt down. He spent months in a hospital psych ward and I watched him undergo 12 rounds of shock treatment that left him with short term memory loss. After 14 years of marriage we divorced. It left me with little interest in ever remarrying.

I've taken a seven year break from collage and returning to school gets harder with age. The mind is willing, but the body argues. Life is full of surprises and I never thought that at middle age I'd be divorced and childless. That wasn't suppose to happen. I should have grand babies to fuss over. Instead, I find myself caring for my aging mother, working and returning to school. Despite these challenges I'm grateful for goals, and the support of family and friends.

I'm looking forward to taking this editing class. Most of us rely too heavily on spell checker. I know that I do. Best of luck class. May we all master the skills of great punctuation and grammar.