How Writing Became My Life...

I was born with a pen in my hand, or so it has been told! I hardly doubt that this is true, but what I can tell you is that I started reading at a very young age. I remember spending hours in the library, thumbing through the hundreds of children's books. Looking for the one that caught my eye (which usually ended as more than one)! As I got older I mastered other techniques that only an expert reader could! For instance, I soon learned that if I held a book with one hand and placed the other on the wall I could easily walk and read. It was no surprise when I was accepted in an advanced reading class in Elementary school (not to brag), and I loved it!

Storytelling was the next step of my journey. It began with one, solid purpose; putting my little brother to sleep! Matt was born with multiple birth defects. But while the world saw him differently, I just saw him as my baby brother and I loved taking care of him. At night, my mother let me help put him to sleep, and soon found that I could do it better than her. In the beginning, I remember setting by his little bed and either singing, or telling him a story. Soon, because I really could not sing (then or now), the storytelling became a nightly ritual. My imagination went wild, and I made up the stories as I went along. Even I didn't know what would come next! But I could tell by the smiles on his face that he loved what I was saying, so I kept going. He wasn't the only one that was smiling; I enjoyed it as much as he did, if not more.

As I entered the higher grades, I began journal writing. Putting the random thoughts that bounced around in my head down on paper! My grandmother bought me my very first journal. It was from the dollar store and purchased on one of our many shopping adventures. It was covered in a colorful pattern made of little peacock feathers and was little enough that it it fit in the palm of my hand. I loved the bright colors that popped out of the pattern; golden yellow, subtle blue and a small amount of pink. But most of all, I loved that it was mine to write whatever I pleased on its perfectly lined pages. This is my earliest memory of writing beyond class assignments.

The journal writing continued throughout the next several years. As I entered middle school, my creativity started to come out in different forms. Whether it be in letters to friends, or papers for my English classes; I never seemed to run out. Then, my 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Gregory, assigned a special project that would change my life. We were to write a fiction story in our weekly journals, writing it in sections. This would become my first piece of literary work. Granted, no one will ever read this story other than my mother and a few closest friends, because after all, it was written by a 6th grader! So needless to say, it was a little rough. But it was a well thought out story, and it was what combined my storytelling and writing into one force. From that day on, I thought of my life in the form of a story!

Throughout the end of middle school, I had numerous teachers notice my writing. A few even went as far as telling me that I had true potential as a writer. This was all enough to keep my passion fueled. When I became a full-time babysitter I was excited to once again have someone to tell my stories too. Better yet, to have someone who thought in the same mindset as myself!

It was in high school that I took my biggest leap in my writing career. I became part of the school newspaper, earning the title of co-editor by my second year on staff. But this was not the leap! No, the leap, or fall rather, happened on a chilly November day. I started to step out my back door and fell, catching my leg between the eroded concrete step and the side of the house. In slow motion (or so it seemed) I fell to the ground, a definite cracking sound echoing though the air and pain cutting though my body like a knife. Two hours, a moon boot and a pain pill later, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. According to the doctor, I had only cracked my ankle but in a really bad place. I was also informed that if it cracked anymore I would be in a lot of trouble medically. So, in the end, it all summed up in four words; two weeks bed rest.

The problem with that was that, to say the least, I was a work-a-holic. So spending that much time in bed was something that pained me more than the break itself. Long story short, one evening, as I was setting with my niece coloring, I began to sketch a small character on a piece of crisp white paper. That night, Lily the Ladybug was brought to life. Then, a few days later, her story funneled out through my pencil on a sparkly, star splattered notebook. I put all the energy that I normally spent running around into my new project. But what made it special, was that I also poured my heart out into every word.

Lily the Ladybug would become the very first character I wrote an entire book about. Even more so, she became a large part of my life. Especially when I realized that this was more than just a book. It was the beginning of my writing career; one that still continues today. Growing with each passing hour.

Becoming a writer was not something I planned. But it is something that I would not change for anything in the world. I am currently 19-years-old, and not a day goes by that I don't write something. In less that three months I will graduate from the small, 2-year community college in Kansas that I once dreamed of going to when I was a little girl. In the two years that I have been studying here, I have been a part of the college newspaper, recently being promoted to the Managing Editor. My days are filled with 17 credit hours worth of classes and three different jobs. But in the minutes that I am able to spare in the evenings, or between classes (ok, ok... and sometimes during class when my mind wanders) I spend my time writing of the characters that flood my mind. To date, I have completed over 10 children's stories and have my first teen novel under construction! Also, I eagerly await the package that should come any day now containing the final copyright certificate for that first Lily the Ladybug book I wrote back in high school.

I heard one of my favorite quotes off of a movie called The Uptown Girls. "Every story has an ending, but in life, every ending is just a new beginning." I like thinking that way! My life is like the stories I write. Chapters are coming to an end all the time, but then the page is turned, and its time to start on the next part. I'm still living my story, so there is no ending. But there are stories! Both true and the ones I make up when my mind runs wild. Either way, there is a story; and that's where my job is! To "catch' the story and find a place to put it. Now your job? That's up to you! You can read about it, but who knows! It's a small world, and chances are that someday you may become a part of it. But until then, you can find me here! Writing my heart out, one post at a time!