Like most kids, I spent a large portion of my life unsure of my future career. My mother’s an amazing artist, as a child I thought I would follow in her footsteps. Drawing and painting were activities that I enjoyed; though looking back, I realize that I never would have been happy doing them for a living. I considered many other careers, from horse training, to interior design, to technical theater. I loved reading, but I didn’t consider being an author until well through high school.

            However, storytelling itself has been a part of who I am for as long as I can remember. As a kid I made up lives for all my toys. I would make towns, using whatever I could get my hands on; everything from Legos to cardboard boxes. I’d play at the stories for hours; when it was time to go to bed I left them to continue again the next day, but always ended up starting over.

            Throughout elementary school I had few friends. I spent quite a few years being the subject of extensive verbal, and sometimes physical, bullying. I became wary of people, had a quick temper, and pretended I didn’t need anyone. In reality I was incredibly lonely. Recess for me consisted of finding somewhere against a tree and getting lost in a book. One crisp day in October, I made three new friends. When I joined their group, they already had an ongoing game, and I quickly created a character in my own image. We continued to build our characters until middle school. By seventh grade I knew I wanted to write a book, but not that I wanted to be an author.

            My freshman year of high school I took a leap of faith. Building off the ideas from the game my friends and I had played, I started a daily journal; not just of my life but also those of my characters. I’d never been good at finishing big projects; tending to get distracted and leave the previous one collecting dust. But I stuck with it; writing an entry a day, keeping track of my own experiences, emotions, friends, and also those of my characters. Over time I began to learn from the adventures I put my characters through. They, in turn, grew from my personal explorations. My characters were much like what I pretended to be, tough, independent, and powerful.

            However, they lacked what I myself had come to lack through bullying and a rocky family situation, compassion. I made an effort to reshape my characters, working them into friendlier and understanding people instead of aggressive and fearless. In turn, I adapted my own thoughts to be more positive. Realizing that my characters could influence people was the final push to discovering that what I really wanted to do with my life was creative writing. I want to create characters that can inspire people, to help them grow and learn, and become more optimistic.