I know this much is true...

I believe that in order to trust someone or to follow what they say, you must first understand who they are and identify with where they came from. My life has been defined by several events, experiences and actions, which can be counted on one hand. The first would have to be my travels to Jamaica starting when I was just six months old. My parents began taking my sister and me to Jamaica as small children and continued for decades to follow. Being taken outside of the comfortable life I knew in Boulder, Colorado was the best lesson they could have taught me. I learned what it was like to struggle in life, how important culture was to human life and most of all what it meant to have nothing and still remain happy. The next experience would come when I was just 17 and barely out of high school, I moved to Spain where I attended Spanish school for six months. I moved to Spain as a child and came home a woman. I went there without any prior knowledge of the language or culture and in a short time learned all I needed to know to survive. Although I lived with a host family and other American roommates, I was on my own for the first time in my life. I learned how to live on my own, be resourceful and depend on myself when the going got tough. I was a changed person! The most profound event of my life had been the death of my Father in 2000. Before he died I had never lost anyone that close to me and it changed the way I saw the entire world from that day forward. Prior to his death my Father was the provider and the security we had all counted on for so long. When he died he took all of that with him. I learned that my Mom was a lot stronger than I had ever known her to be and that I missed my Dad more than I ever thought possible. The key thing I took away from that experience was that we are not promised tomorrow so we must live today as if it were our last. Are you happy with what you have done so far? Are you ready to go tomorrow? Have you told everyone what you need to say in order to feel at peace? My marriage was the next thing to drastically alter my future. When I met my husband Darryl, I knew he was the one. I found serenity in the thought of sharing my world and my life with someone forever. Subsequently, I would have to say that the birth of my two children, Emory and Ellis, changed me more than any one thing ever has. When I first saw their faces I knew that they were the reason I was here. I found purpose in their eyes and peace in knowing that my life was now theirs. Everything I do is for my boys and my family. What has shaped your life? We are made up of our lives and we are the people we are today because of the experiences we have gone through, good and bad. Fine comfort in that and have a wonderful life, starting today!

I am Corinne and I know this much is true....