When I was a sophomore at Tulane University, I decided to take an art history class. To be honest, I didn't do it out of my love for art. I did it out of my love for a fellow classmate. To my recollection, she made an "A" and I made a "C," one of the only ones I got during my four years there.

That experience dimmed my romantic notions of art -- until recently. Over the summer, I spent a week in Mexico City. Among the many things I did was visit the home of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Mexico's most famous artists who lived in the 20th century. I was able to witness how they lived. And suddenly, I became enlightened. I couldn't get enough of these people and their art. When I got home, I started doing research on these artists and the time period in which they lived.

For some reason, their work touched me. As a journalist, it is my most sincere intention to be able to reach readers and to make them thirst for more information -- to, in essence, be a catalyst for more dialogue.

I am fortunate. The material we produce at Energy Central and specifically the columns in which I author have legs. Readers not only respond directly to us but the stories are also reproduced and re-run all around the world.

My art days at Tulane were numbered. But, those school days more than two decades ago were the start of my journalism career. My goals are the same now as they were back then -- to inform readers in a responsible way. I am heartened that the effort has resonated with readers.