Hi, CJ! I’m really honored that you’ve decided to reread the Seven Wonders series after all this time. I hope it continues to live up to your expectations! 😉 I have warm memories of my two visits to the Philippines and hope to return someday. Yes, I earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry. I loved the sciences and I still do. In a way, I found studying them to be a dramatic experience, in the way they probe the mysteries of human life and methodically reach solutions. I never wanted to be a doctor, though, and I discovered in college that research was also something I didn’t think I was suited for. But I was lucky enough to have taken AP courses in high school, and I managed to finish most of my requirements within the first two years. During the last two years I explored literature and music and considered other possibilities for careers, but I became even more confused. I considered law school. But a good friend who was a law student recommended that I work in the field first, to see what it was like. I got a job as a paralegal in a law firm in New York, took the LSATs, applied to law school, and was accepted. I even sent in a deposit to reserve my spot in the class. But during that year while I was working, I finally admitted to myself I’d been aching all my life to do the creative things that had always been a passion of mine: performing and writing. I decided that I’d be miserable if I didn’t at least try. So I contacted the law school and deferred my admission for a year, giving myself a challenge: 12 months to try to follow my dreams, and if they didn’t look like they would work out, I would go to law school. It was nice to have that in my back pocket as insurance, and also useful to have a ticking clock. I promised I would work like crazy and learn to recognize the writing on the wall. As it turned out, within those 12 months I was hired to tour with a Broadway show as a singer/actor. I worked happily in that field for many years, and between acting jobs I worked as a copyeditor for publishing companies. The copyediting work led to writing projects. I had made inroads into three careers: theater, editing, and writing. Eventually I realized I needed to make a decision to really devote myself to one thing, and I threw my eggs into the writing basket. I’ve found it very fulfilling, but it was a long road to get there.

If you told me in college that I would have spent my adult life as an author for young people, writing so many books and giving presentations all over the world, I would not have believed it. So my advice to you is to work like crazy and explore EVERYTHING you dream of doing (especially while you’re young, because it gets much harder to do as you get older). Seek mentors and be open to their guidance. Make sure you have something that pays your bills, even if it’s not exactly what you dream of doing. And know that with enough energy, dedication, and commitment to craft, you can do more than one thing with your professional life — and you may end up in an unexpected and delightful place. It’s up to you to figure out the path that’s right for yourself. Trust that path, be open to wherever it leads, and always be sure to the writing on the wall!