The "Not My Shoes" Challenge

I had the opportunity to interview Vocal creator Dawn Salois. This particular activity involved pairing participants with a partner and allowing the partners to interview each other. The results of these interviews will then be shared, allowing everyone to learn more about the members as people, rather than just creators.

Dawn's Interview with is here.

The Interview

1. Where were you born , where are you now , and how did that happen

I was born in Browning, Montana. It’s a small town right by Glacier National Park and just a little south of Canada. I now live in Orange County, California. On my road here I first lived in Billings, Montana for several years. Then I moved to Vancouver, Washington for several years. My son and I moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to live with my sister and my nephew in 2006. In 2008 my sister was offered a job in Orange County, California and we all moved to the area I live in now. I wrote about my life in my Who I Am piece that you can read here.

2. Do You have Siblings and Children and will you share with me what you think of them

As I mentioned, I have one sister. We have been roommates since 2006. We were both single parents so it’s been beneficial for both of us to have another family member around. Most of our family still lives in Montana so we have pretty much only had each other to depend on. Sometimes it’s difficult because we have very different personalities and sometimes it gets very frustrating, but even if we have disagreements I would still rather be in a living situation with her than someone I don’t know really well. Neither of us could afford to live in the area by ourselves and I would definitely rather have a family member living in the house with my son than a stranger.

I have a 16 year old son named Arlo. I might be biased, but I believe he is an amazing young man. He is very intelligent and has shown the ability and willingness to work very, very hard to achieve a goal he has set for himself. He is probably the best person I’ve ever met as far as being grateful for, and showing gratitude, for even the smallest day to day things. I also admire his honesty and straightforwardness.

Although I only have one child my nephew, Aaron, and my son have grown up in the same household and in many ways I have been like a second parent for him. We don’t have the same relationship he and his mother have, but we are very close. He is 24 years old now and has been living on his own in Oregon for several years. He is also an amazing young man. He’s educated himself on an impressive array of subjects and skills and is one of the most independent, capable people I know.

3. What Brings In The Money?

Right now I work as a Payments and Enrolments Specialist at a debt management company. I am currently working remotely, which I love, but I was told that at some point my team will be going back to the office to work. It’s actually a new field for me. I was furloughed at the beginning of the quarantine and my position, along with many of my co-workers' positions, was terminated about a month later when my company realized things would be shut down for a while. It gave me a chance to try doing something new, though, so I see it as a positive experience overall.

4. What Would be your ideal job?

There are so many different things I would like to do and try. I would have trouble picking just one. If I didn’t have to work to make a living I wouldn’t have an actual job. I would enjoy doing different things all the time, including volunteering for different causes. Not being locked in to a schedule or workplace would be great, though. If I could have a job where I made enough money for a comfortable lifestyle without a lot of stress, and I could do it from anywhere in the world and on my own schedule, I would definitely like that.

5. What Are Your Hobbies

Right now my only hobby is writing. I was training in Krav Maga before the pandemic, but my studio shut down for a while and I got really out of shape. I miss it, but I haven’t decided for sure when, or if, I’ll go back. I also enjoy reading, but I honestly hadn’t done much of it in a few years before I joined the Facebook groups.

Now I really like reading everyone’s stories. There are a lot of amazing writers in the groups.

One hobby I haven’t done much with in a while is cake decorating, which I talk about in my Themed Cakes piece. which you can read here.

6. Do You maintain a “bucket list” and if so what is the top of it

I actually don’t have a bucket list. I suppose it’s something I should do at some point so I don’t spend the last days and moments of my life regretting things I never did. If I had a bucket list I guess the item at the top of it would be to take my son on a nice vacation somewhere. He hates long car rides so he wouldn’t enjoy a road trip, but I would like him to have more experiences to look back on later in his life.

7. What is your ideal destination and what was your favourite holiday

Ideal destination: I took an Art History tour in Greece when I was in college. I really loved a lot of the less touristy areas there. I would love to go back there someday and be able to spend more time in some places and see things I didn’t get to see the first time. I don’t know if it would be the same as the last time I was there, but I really enjoyed it.

My favorite holiday was a trip I took with my son to Las Vegas three years ago. I planned the trip for us to go to a Metallica concert, but I decided to stay a couple of extra days so we could have a little vacation. We did a lot of random, fun activities while we were there. We went and did a virtual reality game where we had to fight zombies, we walked around looking at different things on the strip, and we even took a short helicopter ride over the strip at night. That trip is definitely one of my favorite experiences.

8. What is your favorite or most important Vocal Story?

My favorite Vocal piece that I’ve written is probably my The Most Important Job I’ve Ever Had piece which you can read here.

It’s my favorite because I talk about what I believe is my greatest accomplishment and contribution in society.

9. My Favourite Story Of Dawn's

A heartfelt beautiful nature poetry piece from Dawn which I often come back to.