When I was a child, for long stretches we were homeless on the streets of New York City. I sang for the public on the city blocks to pay for my beloved ballet classes and for food to eat. Riding trains to school from 168th to 42nd, I buried my nose in piles of books. Books ranging from Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” to Judith Viorst’s “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” These books inspired me and cultivated my creativity. They also drowned out the busy street noises on my way to and from school. Between those pages, I learned there was a whole new passionate world of wonder out there I wanted to explore. Whether I explore it with my own two feet and grass between my toes, or from behind a pen and a desk, it is still possible. Anything you put your mind to is possible. It is that wonder and creativity stirred inside me as such a small child that I want to share with others.