Who I Am

Not many people are lucky enough to know who they want to be in this world. And not everyone who knows what they want to do are lucky enough to actually be able to do it. And sometimes choosing to pursue what you want to do with your life, and choosing to do something “feesable” feels like choosing to jump off of a cliff or take the stairs. But when you truly know who you are and what you were meant to do, playing it safe isn’t an option. You have to take the leap.

I began writing when I was 11 years old. Now in middle school my poems and short stories could hardly be considered serious. It wasn’t until my sophomore year in high school that I discovered a potential passion lying just beneath the surface. One of the challenging aspects of that year was the dread of having to complete a personal project which would follow the course of the entire school year. We were allowed to do whatever we wanted with this project, and there were no rules. We had free range.

Everyone else seemed to understand exactly what they wanted to do right away. They picked things that were easy, things that they were good at. But what was I good at? I couldn’t very well run a 5k for my project, or perform a cheer routine as my final presentation. This was something that had to oversee the duration of the school year. This had to take time. Effort. Thought.

I decided to write my first full length story. I had never attempted to write a real story with true character arc and plot development. Everything I had written leading up to this moment was purely recreational and juvenile. But on a whim, I decided to go for it. Little did I know I would fall in love with novels.

My passion is writing. Creating an entire world of your own, with characters who posses traits and individual personalities, who ultimately face challenges and plots became a fascination of mine. Being able to create something derived from my own thoughts truly captured my attention, and the idea that these alternate universes, characters, and their stories are real to us because we allow them to be real in our hearts and in our minds is something I can never get tired of.

Just as much as creating a story is my passion, being able to build on that story brings a whole new level to the to excitement. As I write, I see things I didn’t before that I can add along the way, and suddenly I’m typing so fast my fingers can’t seem to keep up with my thoughts as I’m creating new twists and character arcs that I didn’t think I could add into the storyline. The fact that anything can be possible with writing is very intriguing to me, and is the one thing that can keep me coming back to start a new story.

I love being able to use my writing to advocate for things that matter. I’ve never been very good at speeches, or verbal communication, but the one thing I never seem to falter with is words on paper. That’s where my voice is at it’s strongest. I am proud to say that I have officially published a suicide awareness novel entitled “You’re Not Wortheless” which advocates for mental health awareness, suicidal ideations and attempts, self harm, and anti-bullying. In addition to this story, I have published another novel entitled “You Found me” which advocates for minority communities and school systems, and speaks out about stereotypes, prejudices, and encourages interracial relationships and friendships among communities.

But so far my greatest joy, is seeing my very first novel ever written from high school being edited by my publicist and being prepared for publication in December. My newest novel will advocate for survival’s guilt awareness, mental health in the face of grief, and will highlight a relationship between a mother and her daughter in the aftermath of loss.

Nothing brings me more joy than creating these stories that will hopefully touch at least one person in the world. I cannot wait to continue to create even more and speak out with the voice I’ve been given. Because where my words stutter, my stories never do.