I’ve always struggled picking one thing to spend my time on or focus on. My brain always is bouncing from idea to idea, and I struggled for a long time finding a medium that I could switch through and bounce back three months later without feeling like I can’t continue because it looks ruined, like I love to paint, but it’s hard for me to step away from it halfway through because I can forget what needs to be done, or once the paint dries it will no longer do what it needs to to match what was in my head.

Reading and writing wasn’t something that came easily to me. When I was little, I fell behind in reading because of hearing issues when I was little. By the time I was two, I was 80% deaf. I got tubes in my ears when I was almost two, and that slowly drained the fluid build up that caused my hearing problems. The first steps of learning reading and writing relied heavily on learning sounds and the alphabet, which I couldn’t understand properly. I had to work hard for years to catch up, and to fully understand how the English language works. Once I did, I found I really enjoyed writing.

Writing has provided me with a unique creative outlet that can be whatever I make it. Its diverse foundation allows me to express myself in more ways than I could imagine doing in other platforms.

If I need to get something off my chest and don’t know who to talk about it to? Writing is there. If I want to create a world with dragons or mermaids or my favorite characters, I can do that too. 

I’ve always loved to tell and create stories, and after I pushed myself to get to where writing can be fun instead of just a hassle, I found that it was a perfect way to immortalize my thoughts. 

My 7th grade English teacher once said during a lecture, that “writing makes you immortal” and at the time, I mentally scoffed and moved on, but after a bit it grew to hold a special place in my heart. Writing immortalizes people in the sense that a person’s writing, art or creations hold a part of them. It will forever be your thoughts, and a way for people to learn or connect from you and your experiences, even after you’re no longer around to share them verbally. 

I know for myself, I’m the most honest and open when I’m writing something down to share experiences or discover new ones. 

I used to hate writing with such a passion because of struggles I faced at a young age, but now it’s where I turn when life gets hard, when the world tries to push me down, or when I just want to get away from it all. It is how I express myself and what I believe. The reward of what I can do now, and the opportunities presented to me, makes my past struggles worth it.