Melanie Jackson Introduction

Hello editing classmates,

My name is Melanie Jackson. Excepting a few short-lived blips, I have lived in Ogden for most of my life. I am a senior (but have been for a while) double majoring in English and Organizational Communication. I also work full-time in Human Resources for the Internal Revenue Service.  Twenty years ago I started my career at IRS, temporarily I thought, but now I have accepted that I will likely stay.  Human Resources is a great field to be in, and the vast amount of Human Resources related activity at IRS is impressive. There are many different paths to take a career there.

I live with my 19 year old daughter Eve, and raising her has been such a rewarding experience.  I love that she is still at home with me while she searches for her own path.  She loves acting, makeup and cosplay, and tarot card reading.  She fancies herself a witch.

I have a long-time boyfriend, Eric, who I spend most of my time with.  We have nerdy hobbies like tabletop gaming, binge watching documentaries, and just going to Disneyland repeatedly--we’re annual passholders so we kind of have to.  

One thing that I really love to do is hike, another is trail run. I’m pretty terrible at both of these things, but I love the solitude, witnessing the ever-changing nature on the trails, and the way my body feels when I exert it.

I am fairly well traveled and, as my daughter becomes more independent, I plan on becoming even better traveled.  One of my favorite places to visit is New York City. The atmosphere is amazing and I feel inspired and independent when I’m there.  But oddly enough, I took a trip to Nebraska this summer that absolutely rivaled New York.  I went for a family reunion (I hadn’t been since I was very young), and I was astounded to see that time had stood still in many of the small towns. We were able to locate a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere that my great aunt had abandoned in 1963. I know that was the year she left, because the calendar was still on the wall. Everything was untouched by humans. Birds and tornadoes had taken their toll of course. It was a moving experience to find the baby shoes and toys that my aunt and mother had played with as children. There was even still canned food in the refrigerator.

I am actually very excited about this editing class. Although I am so far gone in my Human Resources career, I don’t know that I’ll ever come out of it, I have always been an avid reader and fairly decent writer. I would still love to work in editing or involve writing in my career some day.  I also feel, as years go by and I come to rely on spellcheck more and more, that my skills have gotten lazy. I am looking forward to honing the skills again, as I really do enjoy it.