Having to clean house meant digging into the past that had been locked away. The pain and the memories that had faded were now coming back. The good memories centered on my childhood, as my parents made sure to give my sister, Vicky, and me everything we ever wanted. Then there were funny memories, like the time a professor stared at the pink playboy bunny on my t-shirt as she asked me to make sure I wore something appropriate for a presentation in front of the faculty. And finally, I recalled the bad memories and the pain of losing loved ones. I didn't always fit in and never said the right thing, but those are the things that made me the person I was becoming. I put away the past, thinking it was just that-past. Little did I know, my past had been vital to my future.