About Me

My name is Rachel Schmeltzer, and I’m a mom/writer/teacher/homeschooler. I grew up in northern Minnesota in a house my parents built as part of their back to the land movement. I’ve lived in other parts of the state since then, but have finally come to settle in central Minnesota. Yes, the bugs and cold are awful, but the nature and people make up for it!

This website and blog are really to get me writing. I have been in love with it since elementary school when I wrote my first poem titled “Headband Superstition.” It was a silly poem, but that writing unit in 3rd grade is what made me realize what I wanted to be when I grew up: a writer.

Alas, as we all know, if we don’t follow our dreams closely, life has a tendency to interfere. And I’ve never been a person who does things the traditional way. In my 20’s I went to school for my Associate in Arts degree, loved deeply and lost tragically, worked a variety of office/secretarial jobs, and gave birth to my first son, Randy. In my 30’s I went to school for my Bachelors in English and teaching license, found love again, lost a parent, and gave birth to my second son, Damian.

Through it all I did some writing. I wrote papers for my classes. I freelanced for website companies. I journaled off and on. I wrote creatively on the blue moons when I felt inspired. But not enough. Not enough to achieve my dream.

Now I am in my 40’s. I work part time as a teacher, freelance for the local paper, and have a house, kids, and pets. My youngest son is homeschooled. My long time boyfriend, Paul, drives semi truck over the road, so most of the time attempting to balance the daily tasks and responsibilities is what I do. It has felt impossible to find the time to write.

Yet the dream hasn’t died. It has been winding through my blood all these years—whispering to my soul to not abandon childhood dreams—to not let time run out. So this website is the jumpstart to following my dream. I can write, but if I don’t market myself and my product, no one will read it. If I want a career in writing, I must take it seriously.

And this is a new world to me—the world of technology and social media. But I can’t let fear hold me back. I hope all you other dreamers out there will join me in this journey of achieving a life-long goal, and share with me your path as well. Together, we can inspire and encourage one another. To the Dreamers!

Other tidbits…

My philosophies?

Never give up hope.

Worry is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere.

Prepare for the worst while expecting the best.

Live in the moment.

My obsessions? Cats, chocolate, backroads driving. Also, people’s motivations and the concept of time.