Sara “Dee” Diaz grew up in the trees of New Hampshire (well, in a house surrounded by them anyway). She has been doodling on scraps of paper since she started taking phone messages when her parents weren’t home after school in the early 90s, and kept at it aimlessly until 2016 when she finally considered a target to aim for, coloring books. Though, if asked, she would not quickly describe herself as “an artist”, crafting, playing, and finding the magic in our creative nature is a pleasure she loves to share with her closest friends, family, and strangers alike. From a very young age, Dee had priceless opportunities to visit many different parts of this planet we live on. As a result, her appetite for travel and exploration is insatiable. After high school, she lived for a short time in Australia, where she learned that Vegemite is not sweet and chocolaty, despite its resemblance to Nutella, and rugby is much more interesting than football. A semester at the University of The Philippines (U.P.) in 2011, threw some culture shock learning curveballs at her. Navigating and learning about life in the Philippines led to some priceless friendships, many formed while practicing with the U.P. Dragon boat racing team. Trips to Canada, Mexico, Peru, Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago, Malaysia, Borneo, Colombia, Bolivia, New York City, Maine, the White Mountains, and more, have instilled in her a great appreciation for how diverse and beautiful the history, art, and people of other cultures are. If you refer to her resume, you will find only the “short” list of job experiences she has had. Though it might look like she “can’t commit to one job” (as some prospective employers have said), the reality is, Dee just isn’t one of those people who knew exactly what she wanted to do or be when she “grew up”, so she tried all sorts of different things. As a child, her mother’s response to the age old question, “Are we there yet?” was consistently, “No. We will never be ‘there’. When we do get ‘there’, we will be ‘here’.” Though, as a kid, this was just annoying, as an adult, Dee has found a more significant lesson hiding in these words. To know where you are going is a great thing, but if you focus only on the destination, you might miss some important pit stops along the way. Appreciate being here now. And once in a while, just take a deep breath. It feels good.