Reflecting is a large part of my journey as a writer. I always enjoyed making up my own stories when I was a kid and I won many contests as a result. The first author book signing that I was able to attend was of the author Alvin Schwartz creator of the Scary Stories Series. I remember seeing the contest flyer on my middle-school library bulletin board and I immediatly talked to my librarian Ms. Walsh. I told her that I was interested in entering the contest and she told me that she would love to see my entry. I was an awkward girl with unfashionable clothes and low self-esteem. Writing was the one hobby that I enjoyed the most because I was able to journal about the sadness that I sometimes felt on the bus as I was being made fun of by the popular, well-dressed kids. This contest gave me a focus and it made me happy to be able to share my talent with others. I wrote an extremely scary story of my own and I was elated when Ms. Walsh announced that I was the grand prize winner. I remember sitting in the beautiful book store and listenng to Mr. Schwartz read one of his stories. I remember thinking this is it! This is what I should be doing! I held tight to my autographed copy of Scary Stories and I smiled from the inside out! The people that were the honorable mentions were able to join me and Ms. Walsh at a special dinner. It was one of the first times in middle school that kids did not make fun of my appearance. What I remember vividly is that they embraced me as a person and a talented writer...they asked me if I would be a writer when I grew up and I thought...Why not! This experience paved the way for my "Who I Am" series and helped me to be Who I Am today. What experiences helped you to be the you of today? Take this time to reflect and and recognize your journey.
Read something great!
No comments:
Post a Comment