About Me—Susan Poole

I finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up.

I joined Medium at the start of the pandemic, and I can honestly say this is the toughest piece I’ve written so far. Why? Because it’s “about me” and I’ve never been comfortable talking about myself. I’m not an introvert by any stretch of the imagination, but I’d much rather listen to someone else’s stories, or exchange thoughts about anything other than my own life. That’s why I enjoy writing fiction. It allows me to examine the world through make-believe characters and plot lines, using my own experiences in the background to give my stories more depth.

On some level, I’ve always understood this about myself, but it’s taken me until my mid-fifties to finally dig in and do something serious about it.

Growing up

I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and have the best memories of being a kid. My mom and dad loved me and my two brothers and everything we did centered around family. Looking back, I can see I’ve always been a people-pleaser, something that has both helped and hindered me as I grew into adulthood.

Many of the choices I made as a younger adult were based on what I thought other people wanted me to do. They weren’t bad choices, just safe and unimaginative, like attending college close to home and later enrolling in law school…