AlexSandra Lett "Lett's Set a Spell"

There's a graduation card from Academy Greetings with a banner across the top that says "Caterpillar High." Butterflies below the stage are clapping by flapping their wings, while others wearing graduation caps are flying in formation toward a bearded butterfly who is handing out scroll-like diplomas. Only one caterpillar is walking slowly up the stairs, and he is thinking "Boy, I guess I shouldn't have skipped that last class."

During my student days at Broadway School in Lee County, which formerly included 12 grades, I was a caterpillar struggling to get out of my cocoon but didn't know how. In developing my natural talents I served as editor of the school newspaper and wrote a column for The Sanford Herald. After high school I was offered a job as a reporter at the local paper, and this 18-month experience helped me understand my need to express myself through the written word.

After covering activities at Sandhills Community College in Moore County, I decided to start classes there. My devotion to my education and my commitment to my work as a staff writer for The Pilot in Southern Pines paid off, as I received a scholarship to attend journalism school at UNC-Chapel Hill. My job duties and extracurricular experiences were always as important as my studies in school.

In working with various aspects of media—including newspapers, magazines, and television—through the years, I strived for success; however, eventually these activities did not feed my spirit. I started a public relations/marketing company, but after several years I developed an uneasy feeling in my gut that my life had a greater purpose and I finally chose to discover what it was.

In 1998, I left behind my business world and my executive lifestyle in Raleigh to hide out in a cabin on a pond deep in the woods. When I re-created the experience of Henry David Thoreau at Walden Pond I sought answers I had not found in intellectual, academic, and professional pursuits. Seeking meaning and authenticity, I believed I could understand myself and listen to God by shutting out the voices of the world.

As I spent time alone with my computer and with Mother Nature, my journalistic and literary interests changed. Writing nostalgic reflections and telling entertaining stories about my Grandpa's country store and my rural upbringings attracted avid readers and led to the publication of several books. This unexpected career has also opened doors for me to provide humorous and inspirational programs to groups throughout North Carolina and in surrounding states.

Life is like school because we need to constantly explore our talents and learn new skills to survive and thrive in society. In the never-ending search for success and happiness we are constantly expected to stretch ourselves—sometimes to even reinvent ourselves. The slogan for my writing and speaking business, Southern Books & Talks, is "The time always comes when the pain to remain a caterpillar is greater than the metamorphosis to become a butterfly."

During the sickness and passage of my parents in 2004 and 2005 I watched them cling to each other in their dying days and realized that I desired that love and commitment in my own life. Now I am balancing my demanding work schedule with more playing, dating, and dancing. Like most human beings, sometimes I want to return to that cocoon and hide from the world but my goal is always the same: I desire lots of butterfly highs!

Life offers a series of cycles including difficult periods as well as exhilarating moments ... providing an ebb and flow that must be honored like the seasons of the fields. Whatever our age or status, whether graduating from high school or retiring from our job, we have the ability to change who we are, make different choices, and improve our lives. When we get in deep ruts and resist change we skip the last class because only through metamorphosis, which is often difficult, can we fully spread our wings. If we are willing to be true to ourselves, honor our gut, listen to our heart, follow divine guidance, take risks, and have faith in God we can enjoy more butterfly experiences and soar to greater heights. We must embrace TRANSFORMATION to thrive freely as a butterfly.