I'm a Cover Girl!

You know those crazy items people add to their Bucket Lists, like "swim with sharks" or "make a million dollars" or "meet the President of the United States"? Things they aspire to but most likely will never actually accomplish? For me, "grace the cover of a magazine" was one of those things. I mean, at some point during childhood every girl probably dreams of being on the cover of a magazine - even the tomboys, trust me, I was one of them. While I think I fantasized about being on the cover of Seventeen or Vogue or the now defunct Sassy, I knew that in reality my chances were very slim. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Dreamer, so think that if I put my mind to it I can accomplish anything! But I'm not a model or an actress or a musician, I'm 5 foot 4 inches tall, and I'm half-Chinese/half-Finnish... Normally people like me are not on the covers of magazines. So imagine my FREAKING EXCITEMENT when I saw the cover of this month's Southwest Airlines in-flight magazine, Spirit!

I cannot thank Southwest and the editors at Spirit enough for choosing to dedicate the cover and 20 pages (yes, twenty!) to The New American Dream and creative entrepreneurship! Small businesses across the country are what fuel the American economy and create jobs - creative, arts-based businesses also help to grow creative-thinking (which leads to enhanced problem-solving skills), encourage a love for art and design, can help people express themselves through tough times, aid in depression and more. I am honored to be included in the issue at all, let alone be on the cover. The lesson here is dream big, involve yourself in community and keep doing what you love to do... You never know where it might lead!