As a child, I didn’t have a particular interest in writing. Science, biology, and astronomy interested me and I fully intended at the ripe old age of 7 to become a marine biologist/oceanographer/astronomer. Yes, I wanted to be all three. Part of me still does (see my Space Shuttle post).

Writing didn’t really cross my mind until I was about 13, when a teacher told me I couldn’t write.
At little back story is necessary here: When I was eleven I moved to Arizona, which uses the Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) test as middle school and high school exit exams. Most students are taught all about this test throughout elementary school. There is a specific writing style required for the AIMS test, a style I’d never encountered (and never seen again) and had a lot of difficulty learning.  My fellow students had known it for years and I had to learn it in a short amount of time. As I struggled to grasp this writing style, my rude teacher didn’t bother to help me and instead told me point-blank, “You cannot write” as she handed my F papers.

As I entered high school, I had accepted what my teacher had said as the truth; that I couldn’t write. Luckily, I was met with two great teachers who thought differently. In my sophomore year, I had a teacher who inspired me to write and recognized that I had some talent. Thanks to her, I decided that I wanted to become a writer.

That’s why I want to be a writer. The reason I think I should be a writer is because I have a constant monologue in my head. I am always thinking about how I would write about an experience, or how I would put into words how I’m feeling. Seriously, what I am writing now was thought up as I was walking home from work. I also love grammar, vocabulary, and writing. Yes, I make mistakes sometimes (nobody’s perfect) and yes I still have a lot to learn, but I know that writing makes me happy.