Who am I?
Let me introduce myself.
When I join a new group, platform, or organization and have to introduce myself or write a description of who I am, I usually freeze up. A few years ago, I came up with a description that I regularly use, with minor updates, everywhere. I decided to break it down to introduce myself here.
Yankee living in the South, sociologist, photographer, writer, editor, teacher, blogger, bead junkie, cloud enthusiast, and lover of turtles.
Yankee living in the South
I was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and brought up nearby. I hadn’t been any further west than New York until I went to Graduate School in Ames, Iowa. Now, that was a cultural shock — not better or worse, just different!
I returned to Connecticut after graduation and spent a couple of years selling shoes until I found a ‘real’ job at Yale University. After ten years in the Department of Psychiatry, I was offered a position at the University of Florida. I figured I would stay in Florida for just a few years. Twenty-five years later, I moved north to Tennessee, where my family had moved.
Sociologist, Teacher
I studied Sociology in both my undergraduate and graduate school programs. Being a sociologist, I look at society and social behavior by examining the groups and social institutions that people form, not individuals. So, working with psychiatrists and psychologists for over 30 years was never dull.
In graduate school, I taught Introductory Sociology, Marriage and Family, and Sex Roles. I planned to get my Ph.D. and teacher at the college level, but life got in the way. I did receive my Master’s degree and then returned home to my family.
I designed and co-taught a graduate-level course on grant writing with my boss at the University of Florida for nine years. I find that I do a bit of teaching almost every day, whether it’s showing my dad how to delete a text or correcting a friend’s grammar in an article they wrote.
Photographer
I love to take pictures! I have my camera with me most of the time and have been known to snap a photo while stopped at a red light. I enjoy photographing clouds. My goal is to capture the essence of a cloud in a photograph — it may take a lifetime to accomplish, but I think I’m getting warmer. I used to love to take pictures of flowers from my garden. One of the first plants I bought when landscaping my house was the hibiscus. I developed a high affinity for the flower and often found it hard to leave a garden center without a new one to add to my collection. I also found that I enjoyed photographing my flowers as much as growing them.
I always loved to photograph my dog, Hershey (1996–2010). She had very expressive eyes. They often told me to stop taking her picture.
For the past four years, I have been publishing a calendar using my photos. The first one was flowers, the second was birds, number three was clouds, and the most recent one was photos of my trip to the Grand Canyon. The next one might be barns.
Writer, Editor, Blogger
I am a word nerd. I love words. I love word games. I love reading and writing about words. Don’t tell anyone, but I even like grammar!
Throughout my career, I have served as an editor and copywriter. I have over 30 years of experience in proofreading and editing psychiatric grants, manuscripts, and protocols. My friends say I can spot a typo at 20 paces.
Over the last ten years or so, I have had a few blogs, including one on how to start a business. My most recent one is called “Over 60 but not Dead Yet.” You can find it at over60butnotdeadyet.com. I also had a photoblog from 2012 through 2017.
As far back as I can remember, I told people I was going to write the great American novel someday. Well, that hasn’t happened yet, but I have found that my talents lie in helping other people achieve a more professional result by providing advanced copy editing and rewriting services. This may include making changes in the content and organization to improve the clarity and flow of the writer’s work by adding sentences, removing sentences, rearranging content, and solving problematic issues with the content.
Bead Junkie
I design and make handcrafted beaded jewelry. I had a business in Florida for 19 years, called Sweet Creations-Jewelry by Candy. I haven’t set my business up in Tennessee yet, but I am still buying beads and making jewelry.
Cloud Enthusiast
I am a card-carrying member of the Cloud Appreciation Society. I have been photographing clouds for over 25 tears, despite the ribbing from family and friends who get tired of me always looking up.
Lover of Turtles
For a few summers, my sister and I would stay at our grandparents’ cottage in Chester, CT. We would go the weekend after school got out and come home on Labor Day weekend. Mom would join us on weekends and once or twice during the week. The cottage had been in our family for generations.
We lived across the street from Cedar Lake and went swimming every day. Often we found turtles in the lake and once we brought one back home with us. We could not agree on a name, so it was the “Dana Candy Yurtle Murtle Turtle.” I have loved turtles ever since. I am now a member of the Sea Turtle Conservancy and an advocate of less plastic in our daily lives.
Well, there you have it! As I was writing this, I realized that it did not include my love of dogs and reading and… I guess I’ll save that for another time.
Connect with Candy at:
Check out her photography at: