At some point, I started being swayed not by peoples' judgment of me, but by their possible judgment. It was a fear based in anxiety, which has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. This fear has affected not only my everyday life, but my creative work as well. I have always been

In my family--my immediate family in particular--names are inherited. They represent our history, and we each know the origins of our respective names. For example, my first name Catherine is from my paternal great-great-great grandmother, Catherine Cumerford. Her father was an Irish Catholic who fled to England, then Australia (where Catherine was born), and finally to California. My