Life is about reflection and forgiveness. It has taken me a lifetime to figure that out. Sometimes we get too involved in our own daily trauma to realize what is happening around us and, subsequently, to us. Whenever I see an elderly person, I like to wonder what stories that person could tell me if given an opportunity. Or, better yet, what did that person learn about him or herself throughout a lifetime of adventures? I use the word "adventures" because life should be viewed as such. Nobody knows how long we'll be here. Nobody knows what will happen next or who we'll meet or who will influence us in the future. But we all can look back at our lives and either laugh or cry or, in my case, cringe at times. I chose to do them all, and I wouldn't change my life for anything in the world. I'm glad I went through some tough times because everything that happened to me had its purpose and lessons to be learned, and unfortunately, it took a lifetime to figure that out. My hopes are that whoever reads this won't need a lifetime like I did. My family immigrated from Italy to the United States when I was very young, and I wanted nothing more than to blend in with the American culture, but my old-school parents had other thoughts. I left home as a teenager to find myself and discovered a world full of wonderful opportunities; however, I also encountered a series of misfortunes that were both hilarious and unfortunate. Yes, I am embarrassed about some of the things I wrote about in my new work entitled My Life Without a Nutshell, but I really don't care. The only way to truly heal from past trauma is to be brutally honest with oneself, and that is the intention of this series of short stories. I apologize in advance.