Look and Listen

Biography

Janice obtained her Paradise Valley Community College Certificate of Completion in Journalism on May 9, 2008. She continues to take journalism classes, writes freelance articles, does copyediting for the Puma Press, reads and reviews books, takes photographs and blogs at http://jlsemmel.wordpress.com and http://jsemmel.wordpress.com. To view Janice’s resume and read her clips, please visit her ePortfolio at http://eport.maricopa.edu/published/j/se/jsemmel/home/1/.

Inspiration

The death of my Dad on 03/03/03 changed my path in life from crunching numbers 24 hours a day, seven days a week to reading, writing and photography. One of the first stories I wrote dealt with my Dad's death on 03/03/03 and the story he told me on 03/01/03 of the cardinal that visited the bird feeder he made. When I arrived in Pennsylvania the day after Dad's death, a cardinal waited for me on his bird feeder. A week later when I returned to Phoenix, I spotted another cardinal at the Desert Botanical Garden. I saw my third cardinal one week later at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. I decided that three cardinals in three weeks meant more than coincidence. Cardinals continue to show up in my life on special days and during tough times. The number three also enters my life in my new post office box number, the three pennies I found along the road on my morning walk and the money that arrived unexpectedly to pay for a class I couldn't afford. I always know that my Dad watches over me no matter what happens in my life.