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I'm not sure when I started saying it, but definitely at least by 7th grade. "I'm going to be a writer!" was my claim, which my teachers much more enthusiastically supported compared to my "I'm going to be a comedian!" statement in 2nd grade. To be fair, I wasn't that funny. Unfortunately, getting older dulls your creativity. I took creative writing classes in college, and I still write a lot - but mostly stilted, scientific writing that values consistency, predictability, and a rigid format over any sort of fun. And then there was junior year of college. I studied abroad in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and all of a sudden the world opened up. Stroopwafel , the kind that's freshly pressed at the local market, changed my life. Biking around scenic canals and down cobblestone streets in a janky kids bike (because I was too short to buy an adult-sized Dutch bike) with a 10 pound chain-link lock hung around my neck like a giant mafioso necklace (b...