When I attended UCSD in La Jolla for college, I often walked from campus to the Cliffs, off Torrey Pines, to watch the sunsets. Having grown up in a traumatic environment, just sitting on the cliffs, looking at the serene scene and being able to calm my overactive sympathetic nervous system, even if only for a few minutes, was critical succor. The sunsets at the Cliffs often were so spectacular, they'd make me cry.

I had to support myself through both college and law school and took out heavy student loans. I worked throughout college and law school including working three jobs during my freshman year at UCSD - at a linen shop; taught piano/babysat a disabled boy; and at the UCSD medical school. Later, I worked as a cashier, live-in assistant/cook, waitress/cocktails waitress and photographer.

My first job was at a local newspaper in Las Vegas, Nevada when I was fifteen. I remember waking up before dawn with my sister, getting a ride from a family friend to the newspaper, and being so uncertain of everything. The years have certainly rolled by in a blur.

I'm glad I went to the Cliffs so often long ago to take in those dreamy sunsets. Life is short; view more sunsets.

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