Fran Hopkins:  

I'm happy with my life and who I am today, but it hasn't been easy getting here! I'm sure life gets complicated for everyone; it can't be like high school forever (and we'd really miss out on a lot if things never changed!). After high school, I went up the hill from Paul VI to Montclair State to get my degree in English. At MSU my favorite thing was working on the Montclarion, the college newspaper. I always loved to write and at the Montclarion, I got the chance to do that and also met so many great people. Right out of college in the summer of 1978, I went to work for Prudential (the same company where my father worked). I learned about the insurance business, especially health insurance (which is actually very interesting, particularly nowadays!). At Prudential I was able to do a good amount of writing too; I learned a lot there and ended up staying for 20 years. While at Prudential, I was introduced to my future husband, John (another Pru employee). We were married in 1981 and our son was born in 1990. It was in 1996, though, when things began to get complicated. One day in May, my husband left for work in the morning and never came home again; without any warning, he suffered a heart attack in his office and died at the age of 45. At 40, I was suddenly a widow raising a not-quite-six-year-old boy alone. I really didn't understand what had happened to our life or ...Expand for more