“The Black Robin is an endangered bird from the Chatham Islands off the east coast of New Zealand. There are now around 200 black robins, but in 1980 only five survived on Little Mangere Island.”

He’s a cute little guy, don’t you think? I remember the first time I heard of him. I thought, ‘A robin? There’s no way those things are endangered, they’re everywhere.’ Then life provided me with one of those moments, you know, the light-bulb style ones when a thought so profound washes over you the world stops spinning? Just because something seems ordinary doesn’t mean it is. Just because something seems unremarkable, doesn’t mean there isn’t a whole lot more to its story.

I think I’m pretty unremarkable. I’ve always been a very passionate, emotional and rather dramatic person with words bubbling just underneath the surface. My behavior can be erratic and as such, that whole ‘plan for the future’ thing didn’t really work out for me. When my son was two, I accepted a position as the sales coordinator for a proposal team. For the first time, I was surrounded by educated individuals who I greatly admired. They all had degrees in fields like English and Marketing and I learned more from them in five years than I had in the entire 24 years prior.

After a few years of self-doubt and tears, I completed my first novel in 2009. Despite my lack of formal education, and by some miracle I still can’t explain, the world of publishing took me in. Six novels later they are still being patient with me as I grow and learn. The same can be said for corporate america. I continue to work for that company and over the past ten years have gone from Coordinator -> Jr. Proposal Writer -> Proposal Writer, 1 -> Proposal Writer, 2 -> Sr. Proposal Writer and now Proposal Manager. Whether it be novels, proposal content or blogs I actually get paid to do what I love…write.

So what does all of this have to do with the black robin? Sometimes, you just gotta go for it. Set aside how you’re labeled (non-educated, dramatic, plain, unremarkable, endangered) and spread your wings and write! It doesn’t have to be writing. Maybe you like to cook or paint or teach or manicure lawns, it doesn’t matter. The same principles apply. It’s all about having some faith in your wings.

Christy Wulff (formerly Trujillo) was born in a  small town in Northeast Florida near the Saint Marys River. As an only child, her love for reading was born from necessity and blossomed into a love for the written word.

Wulff has published six novels including the multi-cultural Maldito Series and an adult romance under the pen name, Lee Ralaine. She currently resides in Jacksonville, FL with her son, very supportive husband, two black cats who seem to be pretty lucky and a spunky blue-eyed kitten who is truly the baby of the family.