My early work consisted of diary entries about Leonardo DiCaprio and persuasive essays, often co-written with my older sister. The most notable were pleas to see Titanic in theaters, buy Titanic on VHS, and get my ears double-pierced.

After college, I moved abroad and started a blog called CambodiAnnie—a gloriously chaotic stream of consciousness detailing my time teaching kindergarten.

That’s when I thought to myself, “Maybe I should write stuff… for real.”

And thus, my professional career began.