Without writing, I wouldn’t be the girl I am, think the way I think, feel the same way as I do today.

I have the honor to be able to present some of my work at Writers’ Day. This, to me, is a pretty big deal.

I’ve never been afraid of the stage. I grew up being in plays/musicals and dancing until I was 12. However, I have never performed my poetry or writing in front of an audience before, but I’m not one to have stage fright so I don’t think it will be a problem.

I’ve noticed my poetry is never light hearted. Even in eighth grade, I was writing poems about how love doesn’t exist and how everything is a lie. My teacher actually challenged me to write about something happy but I just couldn’t do it. My friends, family, and teachers often ask me “are you ok?” because of the intenseness of my writing. It’s not that I bottle these deeper emotions inside, I just have a dark sense of poetry and my emotions are exaggerated through my poetry.

I’m not really what people call “normal” instead of hanging out with friends or playing video games, I write. It is my escape from the world and from not knowing how to express myself. There is almost a different language to writing that makes it easier to get out what I want to say indirectly.

If I am having a bad day or need someone to talk to, no matter what I am doing, I take out a piece of paper and pencil and write a poem. About 80 percent of the time, what I write is nowhere near good, but I always feel like I got what I needed to say off my chest. Writing is almost like my own personal therapist; though it could never replace a human being, it’s a good temporary solution.

I love writing because it is not only my hobby, but something I want to become my career one day. To be able to speak my work at Writers’ Day is an honor and I only hope this is the beginning of sharing my work with people.