MarieSam Sanchez, Patch Staff

Looking back at my childhood, I think the writing was on the wall that I'd end up with a career as a storyteller. When I was a child my parents had to force me to stop reading and go to bed. So that's when I'd whip out my handy dandy emergency flashlight and read my book under the covers. I've always been mesmerized by the power of the written word, appreciated the impact of one's voice, and been enamored by the beauty of images and life captured on film.

While too busy dreaming of becoming a T.V. reporter in college, I made the dumb mistake of thinking all I had to do to was get my degree and jobs would fall in my lap like leaves in November. But reality checked in when all the jobs I wanted required a degree AND a resume reel -- something I didn't have. So that's when I hit the ground running and began reporting at several local city stations throughout L.A. County. For more than two years I did it for free, spending my weekends in a small dark edit bay, editing my own sports and news packages. I honestly had no clue what I was doing, but slowly osmosis swept in and I started to get it and frankly, I was addicted to it.

I knew that if I wanted to make it into the TV big leagues, I'd have to move to a small town and start from scratch but instead I decided to stay local and picked up paying gigs as a freelance anchor/reporter at a few local stations in my area. I didn't get rich doing it, much to my parents' dismay, but I was doing what I loved and it never felt like work. And though I enjoyed the freedom of freelancing, I knew I eventually had to grow up and find "a real job."

So in 2007, I accepted a position as the overnight police beat reporter for City News Service -- the largest regional newswire service in the country. I worked from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Mon-Fri in the LAPD Parker Center newsroom they say was haunted. And in that dark and dirty newsroom that was always filled with inexplicable noises, I spent more than two years plugging away and breaking news throughout L.A., Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties. I hated the hours, I'm not going to lie, but the job and my editors Jacques and Calvin taught me more about journalism than five years of college courses ever could.

During my time at CNS, I broke some of the most notable stories in the Southland, including the slaying of the first LAPD SWAT officer, the big rig tunnel explosion on the I-5, and the late night suicide of murder suspect Kazuyoshi Miura inside the Parker Center jail. But lest I forget the best thing about the job ... the 20 pounds I lost living like a vampire. Yep, and when people asked what was my secret, I simply told them to work the graveyard shift full-time. It's seriously the best diet. Ever.

After getting married in the summer of 2009, I decided to reacquaint myself with the living and stepped away from my post at CNS. Over the next six months, I discovered a passion being behind the lens, specifically as a portrait and wedding photographer. My husband Tommy is my second shooter and together we spend our free time capturing the most joyful moments in people's lives through our business as MarieSam Sanchez Photography.

When I'm not busy working and decide to come up for air, I enjoy spending time with my husband and our daughter, watching sports -- Go Lakers, Go Trojans -- and traveling to different corners of the earth. If I had it my way, I'd spend the rest of my life making videos like this: Where The Hell is Matt? and taking a billion pictures along the way.

In a gist, I'm a simple gal with a love for people and new experiences and if there's one thing I need in life, it's the tight knit circle I call my family. Oh and the internet, because I'm totally addicted to checking my email.

So whether I'm sitting at a computer working on the latest Patch article, in front of the camera or behind one, I love the ability to tell a story through my voice, pictures or words. Communication is my life and I feel lucky to have found a line of work doing what I love to do.