A writer, pop culture junkie, collector of things and sometime-musician, I started reading and scribbling at an obscenely early age and, by three-and-a-half, had already landed my first public relations gig as my baby brother’s official spokesperson — much to the chagrin of my parents and other responsible adults.

The career path decided upon, all that remained was to fine-tune how one could actually make a living at it.

The University of Florida hooked me, in my junior year of high school, with their beautiful campus and well-regarded College of Journalism and Communications. (Not necessarily in that order.)

After a brief flirtation with the journalism/reporting track, I discovered the “J-School” offered the perfect program for semi-obnoxious people who wanted to learn at least a little about each of the school’s disciplines. I graduated with a B.S. in Public Relations a little over a year and a half later.

Having decided that full-on corporate was not the way I wanted to go, I pursued opportunities that sounded interesting or offered me the chance to learn and do new things — from pre- and post-production work on video shoots and on-air television and radio spokesperson duties to writing ad copy, structuring strategic marketing campaigns and crafting communications programs.

I continued writing and editing through it all, and since 2000, the Internet has allowed me to entertain an audience of more than 20,000 unique visitors who check out my sites on a monthly basis.

What does the future hold?

I don’t like making those kinds of predictions. They’re limiting. (Case in point: If someone had told me at age 21 that I’d serve as the media spokesperson for a manatee, publicist for a rock band, marketing guru for an international fine art company and online publisher, I would have thought he or she had been hitting the sauce.)

Two things I can say with certainty: 1.) I’d rather make things happen than wait for things to happen to me, and 2.) Whatever does happen is sure to be interesting.