My Passions

I have always been a creative person. I took dance lessons as a little girl; I won many awards. I took piano lessons as a teenager; I taught myself to play the flute and currently am working on the violin and cello. I sing live on cruise ships with my friends at the piano bar and play sometimes. But my true passion is writing. During my college years, I took a creative writing class with Dr. Furlong that opened my eyes to see things in a brand new way. Writing did not have to be formulas, and poetry did not have to follow certain rules. I fell in love with Poe, Williams, and cummings, and it made me come out of a shell I had been hiding in all my life. I became an English teacher so I could develop the skills in young adults to write about things they cared about. I teach the formula so my students know the rules, but I also teach my students which rules were made to be broken or heavily bent.

I am most passionate about being one of the rule breakers and making my own. While I agree that there are certain elements in writing that must be in place, why can I not stretch those bounds and make people think at the same time as being creative? Why do people read my work and follow me? They do so because I have wondrous stories to tell. When I was younger, I wrote little books and poetry and made friends and family check it out as if they were in a library. I lost sight of that desire as I grew older and life got in the way. Recently, I started my novel that I told everyone I was writing. It is about a boy named Temugin and his half-goddess sister Sapphire. While many stories are focused on supernatural or preternatural characters, I write alternate history or fantasy history using real people in mystical ways.

What is it exactly that I want to say or have people to hear? My mother always taught me that no one will do anything for you, that you must make things happen for yourself. I tell people that they have to make things happen for themselves; something that I am doing this very instance by writing this tonight. I am not a writer unless I write. My friends and family cannot read my work if I do not put it on paper. I am not a minstrel but a bard hiding in plain sight that must be released. Tonight I am making things happen for myself.

Honestly, I had not heard of Vocal until tonight. I came across an advertisement on my Facebook page and was excited about one of the contests. After I signed up, I saw this contest. I am a writer, but what is a writer with nothing written. If I say I am passionate about writing, why am I not doing it immediately? So I started two hours before the deadline. Does it matter that this piece is not my best. I am not trying to make this my masterpiece. I am officially starting my writing career now. Does it matter to me to actually win this contest. No, but what does matter is that I followed through and my writing is being read by someone who cares and is passionate about something.

Thank you in advance for reading my work and continuing to follow my story and my passions. Thank you for opening this format for others to do the same and be who they truly are.