Gnothi Seauton

It all started when I was a child, my parents got me a trampoline. Pretty soon everyone got bored of it except me, I found that I could go all day because I would bounce and daydream.

Years later when I was in my teens me and my family got into a big fight and I stormed out of the house and went for a walk, afterwards I started going every night. There was something about grabbing a pair of headphones and going for a long walk beneath the stars, just daydreaming. As I walk under the night sky all alone, my mind drifts into imaginary worlds of my own creation. I find that if I don't complete this routine every night I have trouble focusing on anything.

It took me awhile to wonder what my passions were, what would make me happy and give my life purpose. But as it turns out the answer was in front of me all along, every time my life got difficult or I needed a break to rest my anxious mind I would dip into a book, movie, video game, tv show, or wonder off into my own mind. Perhaps if I could harness my imagination to give my life direction and maybe help others escape reality, that would be a great way to help myself and others at the same time.

So I decided to adventure into the world of creative passions, I went to college to get a degree in video game design, after two semesters I decided that that wasn't for me. I was sitting at home staring at my laptop screen wondering what to do, on a whim I opened up a word document and just started typing. Suddenly the sun was up and I had written thousands of words, the story was rough but it just felt right.

It is incredibly difficult to be imaginative and creative while stressing about the everyday things like maintaining a full time job and living paycheck to paycheck. For awhile I gave up on ever finishing that story and becoming an author, because it wasn't until just recently that I decided to follow my dreams no matter what. I lost my job but had some money saved up so I decided to bet everything on myself and my passion.

Sitting in my bedroom staring at my computer screen suddenly all that I was risking hit me at once. " What if I can't finish this story? What if I'm not good at writing? What if nobody likes my stories?" That night my mother told me about Vocal and told me about the monthly competitions for big rewards. She said that maybe that was the break I was looking for, a little bit of income to buy me some time to try to become an author.

I was unsure about it but that night I went for a walk, away from home listening to music and looking up at the sky my mind cleared and I pictured the best path to take. Once I got home I followed the link she sent me and explored the website, I saw the challenge called Doomsday Diary. I liked the sound of that challenge, so I decided to give it my all.

I may not know how all of this will turn out, but in the end it doesn't really matter. I made a promise to myself that no matter what I will be myself and not let my dreams fall by the wayside. Whether I become a bestselling author or just another casual writer on the internet I'm going to keep doing what I truly enjoy, daydreaming and writing.