My Relationship With Writing

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved writing. Even when I didn’t know how to write, I would write in my own little gibberish and graffiti all over books. I guess in my mind, I was writing them better. I think my love for writing really blossomed once I learned how to read, and once I could, you better believe that's all I did. Book after book, page after page, sometimes two at once. In first grade I was reading chapter books, and I specifically remember my teacher told my mom that I was reading on a high school level, at six years old. First grade was also the year that we started “writers workshop” and it was my favorite part of the day, where all we did was write. We wrote personal narratives, short stories, fiction, fantasy, whatever we wanted within reason. That is where my creativity prospered, and as soon as my pencil hit the paper it didn’t stop. I vividly remember a conversation I had with my fourth grade teacher about how much detail I include in my writing, to the point that I had to completely shorten my narrative because it was about six pages too long. 
     Flashback to second grade though, with my angel of a teacher, where everyday I would go home after school and write my own “books”. One day I sat down at my little table and wrote a book about an octopus in the sea who was friends with all the sea creatures, and I actually illustrated a cover for it and glued it onto the back of a cereal box which became the cover and binding of this high class book. I was so proud of it that I decided to use all of my nerve, and bring it into class the next day, but I didn’t stop there. I then showed my teacher, who was in absolute awe of my piece, and I asked her if she could show the class. I felt so special and recognized, and that was the moment I knew I wanted to write my own real novel. One day my name will be published on the cover of a thick book, filled with all the beautiful things I have to share with the world, and who knows maybe there will be an octopus on the cover of it. 
      R.L. Stine, the author of the Goosebumps books, was actually a huge influence on me as a child. I loved reading scary books, and Goosebumps was my favorite series, to the point where I would read at least 3 of his books a week. I would check them out at my school library, but my mom would always bring me to the public library where I could check out as many books as I wanted to, and to me, that was a dream come true. R.L. Stine became a hero to me, someone I genuinely looked up to because he wrote so many books, which were all so popular and he really made a name for himself. He went on to have a show created from his books, “Goosebumps”, and then another show called the “Haunting Hour”, followed by three movies. As a child I would write scary stories to try and be just like R.L. Stine because even that young, I saw myself becoming successful like him someday. 
     I write because I feel inspired by the books I read, and I hope that one day I can inspire others to write as well. Writing has always come easy to me, I feel like it’s my gift. I don’t want to waste it, I want to share it with the world. One time in high school I wrote so much compared to other students that the kid next to me looked at my paper and said, “what are you a robot?” Everyone has their own superpower, and I believe that writing is mine, and it’s not one that should be hidden away or taken for granted. It’s given to those who know how to use it to spread their gift to other people. 
    I write because it makes me feel accomplished, or satisfied with myself. The trial of sitting down for hours upon hours and typing till your fingers are sore and your eyes are bloodshot to the point that the words blur on the screen, is all worth it in the end when you type that final sentence that makes the whole paper come together, and you feel invincible. I view assignments as a game; I write them all down and check them off as I go, so the more I do in one day, the more accomplished I feel. Writing a paper will always give me the most intense feeling of accomplishment. I think it’s because everytime I type that last word, I prove to myself that I haven’t lost my way. Writing has always brought me so much happiness, especially as a child, so if I lose the sense of happiness while writing then I lose the childhood influence that started my journey. I don’t write just for egoistic ideals like praise and for my own personal pleasure, I write because it’s enjoyable for me. I write outside of school assignments because it’s just something that I’ve always done. Escaping into my own head and creating a world away from my own has always been my favorite thing I could do.
    I write because I want my voice to be heard and writing my ideas down on a piece of paper is the easiest way for me to do that. I want to be recognized one day for my writing, and I really want to touch someone with my words. When I read books I feel inspired to write, I feel inspired to make other people feel moved by words strung together by me. My favorite books to read are ones that make me forget I’m reading. One day my dream is to write a book that makes other people revel in the same feeling, so much so that when they finish it, they ache to be able to read it for the first time.

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BriAnna Sankey