My love affair with books and words began at an early age. My mother dated a gentleman who worked for a bookbinding company. There was never a shortage of books in my life because he furnished my sisters and me with a steady supply. As my mother would say, you love to sit around and listen to grown folks’ conversations. And I surely would. Their stories were so passionate and the rhythm of the colorful words they used was music to my young ears.

I grew up in a close knit neighborhood with lots of kids. Kickball, hide and seek and races ruled the hot summer days. I participated in all the fun physical activities but I would also sit around the activities reading. Believe it or not, the kids in the neighborhood were in awe that I like to read. They would ask me to read aloud to them. As you probably guessed, it made me feel special. In middle school, my school counselor, Mr. Calhoun, told me I was good with words and I should get a job dealing with words. He was one of the few African American educators I had during my educational experience. So his words rang loudly in my ears. Ironically, or not, I am a school counselor and a licensed therapist.

Before I was a school counselor I taught seventh-grade social studies. An interesting side note, LeBron James was one of my seventh-grade students. The curriculum of the course was Roman history which is very interesting, however, the textbook was not. I would use the course materials to create short stories. The students loved the stories and I loved creating the stories. Jokingly, I would tell my students and anyone who would listen that one day I would be an author.

My love affair with books and words continued to grow. Before book clubs were popular my sisters, girlfriends and I would read and discuss books by California Cooper, Terry McMillian and E Lynn Harris. Then I co-founded DTVision. DTVision is an award winning business that uses guided imagery and art to help people and organizations set goals. As a licensed therapist, I get to use my love for words to help people curate good thoughts to visualize a goal they want to set.

I am blessed to have a husband who shares my love of books. Thanks to my husband I had a variety of reading materials while receiving fertility treatments. I read fiction and nonfiction and self-help. I was open to all the possibilities of creating and the idea came to me….. DM Whits curator of good thoughts. I hope you enjoy my love of reading and words. I hope good thoughts are curated for you!