A funny thing happened on the way to becoming a psychiatric architect (nope) . . . . . . a psychologist-architect (not that either) . . . umm, an architect (noooo) . . . okay, an ethnomusicologist (no again) . . . a music biz mogul (almost!) . . . (>record scratch<) an actorvist and founder of my Bald Is Beautiful movement (yep!).
My life’s path has never been the straight and narrow one. Nor has it been the path(s) of least resistance! I have always tended to blaze my own trails, so to speak, and I charge forth to accomplish those aspirations with vigor and drive. I plan, I research, I nerd out, I also worry, and I might be a wee bit of a (recovering) control freak. Even so, when obstacles or detours appear, I find creative and unexpected ways to shift direction, often without much time to deliberate or dilly-dally.
When I started my first year at Barnard College in New York City, I had a clear vision in my mind of what I wanted to do. I was going to become what I called a “psychiatric architect” (long before the art of Feng Shui had become something familiar or popular), designing spaces that were conducive of a healthy mental and emotional environment. With each semester, different classes changed how I felt about this plan. That didn’t derail me, though, and, like many college students figuring out what they want to do, I adapted my course of study several times.
After two full years of running through the practical, I decided to move toward the passionate.
While I’d spent my days in classes and diligently doing my homework uptown at Barnard, my nights were spent off-campus into the wee hours immersed in the downtown jazz scene of New York City. I even interned at the legendary Blue Note Records starting in my second year of college! This was my heaven! So why not make my own heaven on earth?
