So my name is Kelly Barnhill. And I write books for children. That is one of the many jobs I’ve had in my life. I also used to be a teacher. And I was a middle school teacher and I was a high school teacher and I was also a GED teacher. I worked in a drop in center for homeless youth. I was a receptionist for a while and a secretary for a while. I was a bartender for a while. I was a waitress for a while. I was a park ranger for a while. I was trained as a wildland firefighter and also in search and rescue.
I was a janitor. Gosh, I’m missing something. Any way I’ve done a lot of things. Oh, I worked in a carpenter shop for a little while. That didn’t end well. So I’m a very restless person. And I’m a very curious person. But at one point it became very clear to me that the sum of my experiences prepared me for absolutely nothing, except for maybe writing books. Also that I had no other marketable skills, so I feel very grateful that I’m allowed to do this particular work.