hen I was in high school, we moved to St. Louis, Missouri. My favorite subjects then were the same as now: history and English. I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I knew it would have something to do with kids. Later, when I went to college, I created my own major that combined elementary education and theater. In St. Louis, my family continued to take in children, pets, and an occasional grownup. Sometimes I had a hard time with all the confusion and turmoil of a large, extended family but something exciting was always going on. My story in Chicken Soup for the Kids Soul, “Mom's Duck” shares one of my funniest childhood memories. fter college I headed to New York City where I studied theater. I also spent a few years in California performing in a children’s street theater troupe and conducting workshops in schools. My writing career began when I returned to New York and worked for a neighbor who was a freelance promotion writer.