The Beginning

Hello, friends, and welcome.

When I was a little girl I made a list of potential professions for when I grew up. That list included writer, dancer, hair dresser, and advice columnist.

Here's the current standings on how that turned out: I write and edit for a living, I swing dance passionately as a hobby, and several friends have put their locks at the mercy of my scissors and gone out the next day without bags over their heads ... but still no advice columnist job has materialized.

I waited, and wanted it, and alternately considered it a terrible idea and a great idea I was just afraid to go for. (Sometimes it is tough to tell the difference.)

So, why keep waiting. Here is my advice blog. There aren't any posts yet, because it's just started and you haven't written me yet.

You can write me about anything you like, but I recommend that you ask about relationships. Friends and family, loved ones and loathed ones, the people who you need to deal with better and you just can't quite figure out what to do. Or write me about yourself, and tell me about your journey on which maybe you are lost or wandering, and maybe I can help you figure out where to go next.

Many advice columnists will tell you how they lack any professional credentials, but I won't, because I actually have some. I have degrees in psychology in counseling, but strangely enough I don't think they necessarily count for much when it comes to advice-giving. Many people have degrees in these subjects and you certainly wouldn't ask their opinion on what to have for dinner, let alone your life.

What should matter to you is that I pay attention, and I try hard to understand how people work, and I will do my best to help you.

I can't promise I will always be right, or that you will necessarily even want to take my advice, but I can promise that I will do my best, and I hope that you will allow your story to be shared.

You can reach me at heliotropeinspring@gmail.com