As a child, I had no friends growing up on a remote Wyoming cattle ranch—I didn’t fit in and felt out of place with other kids my age. As an adult, my first job out of college sucked the soul from me—there were a few hard knocks before I finally landed in a career...
My first job out of college sucked the soul out of me. My degree turned out to be more of a coupon with an expiration date than a ticket to a fulfilled life. I didn’t prosper on any level, and it began to affect my mental health. I had thoughts of suicide because if...
People talk a lot these days about being “cautiously optimistic” as we try to return to normal, whatever that is. Many Americans have begun a deep reconsideration of how they have lived, and how they should live in the future. Can we use this time in history to become...
Wyoming winters can be hard, even harder when you live on a cattle ranch at an elevation of 7500 ft. When the wind whistled off Laramie Peak, one of our biggest worries was that the wind-driven snow would push the cattle into ravines where they would be covered up by...
As we continue to deal with the news geyser known as COVID, we’re left with the opportunity—no, the need—to take a closer look at our own lives. On one hand, science has triumphed. On the other hand, we feel as though we’re in a disaster movie, standing in front of a...
As a kid, my parents gave me no choice—I was going to go to college after I graduated from high school. I had no clarity on what to do with my life, so I followed the blueprint laid out by my parents. I followed the path chosen for me all through school, and when I...
One of the first things I learned as a new FBI agent was that risk would always be part of my job. Not every day, and not in every investigation, but there would always be some element of risk if I wanted to move toward success. This applies to all areas of life...
The ability to accurately interpret body language is a tricky business. A shrug could mean a person doesn’t know what’s going on, or it could mean they don’t care. When someone crosses their arms, it could mean that they are shutting you out of the conversation or...
It took courage to tell my parents that I was transferring from the University of Wyoming to an out-of-state college in Arizona. It took courage to pull a loaded weapon from my holster and say these four little words: “FBI. You’re under arrest.” It took courage to...
When I landed on my new FBI squad, I was given the sobriquet of Princess. I treated the nickname with a healthy combination of suspicion and curiosity. I knew my male colleagues would watch my reaction as they asked themselves this question: can she take a joke?...
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