It was 1997, and I had finally decided that I wanted to actively
pursue my singing and writing.
My 'real' parents had just found me, and I was going through many changes. (I'm adopted, that is a whole other story though, and one far too long and personal to write about. But I *do* feel blessed to have my blood realtives, and my adoptive family with me these days :)~*)
Anyways, at the time when they found me I was living in a beautiful little town in the mountains of Canada, called Kelowna. It was a very small town, and I had some relatives in Toronto, so I decided that I would move there and take a leap of creative faith. (Toronto is the 'Hollywood' of Canada, if you didn't know.)
I moved to Toronto with little more than a backpack, 5 dollars (seriously!) and credit collectors chasing after me. I was in debt, I was broke, and I needed a miracle.
Once in Toronto, I began to think that I had made a mistake. It was a big city, I didn't know anyone, and me and the family members I was staying with were at odds.
Night after night, I kept having dreams that my money problems were gone, then I would wake up~ and they would still be there. I was very stressed out.
I am not a religous person, but I am a spiritual person. I decided that what I would do was take my last 5 bucks and go buy a candle to meditate upon. For a sign.
I walked to the store, in search of a candle. I browsed around, and found 2 very pretty glass candles for 99 cents each. When I brought them up to the cash register, I decided last minute to take the change~ 3 dollars~ and buy a lottery scratch and win ticket.
When I got home I lit the candles, and forgot about the lottery ticket for a while. Hours later, when I saw it sitting there on the kitchen table~ I scratched it.
I won 5 thousand dollars. No joke.
And that is when I knew that I was on the right path, that I am meant to be an artist and follow my dreams.
Months later, when I got a band together in Toronto, I called up a journalist who took interest in the lottery story and wrote about us in an arts newspaper that is a spinoff of the Toronto Star. (see that article here!)
That lead to me actually freelancing for The Star, and finding an investor for my own magazine, which was called the Twisted Times.
I post this now so you all can remember that anything is possible if you believe in yourself.
~xx |
