Letter Two: The Pessimist Also Writes

I've always loved to write. Well, let me rephrase that: I have always loved to read, which indirectly led to my love of writing. My mom has always been an avid reader, and I make an effort once in a while to thank her for sharing her love of books with me. I was an early reader, and on a 5th grade level by the time I was in 2nd grade. One of the few things my dad ever did with me as a child for "father-daughter time" (though he has never really enjoyed reading as a hobby) was to read me stories at bedtime, particularly from a beautifully illustrated book of Bible stories. You will rarely find me without a book or my Kindle, because I feel lost without them.


In 4th grade, I was required to write a creative story for a national competition. I received second place, and cemented my love of creative writing. I looked forward to the competition every year after that. It was my dream to be the next Danielle Steel or Nora Roberts (or maybe Charlaine Harris or Laurell K. Hamilton, since I’m not really a Danielle Steel fan). Like all artists of one form or another, ideas for short stories would float around in my head until I finally put them down on paper. For this reason, I decided I wanted to be a writer and pursue a degree in English and Communications with a concentration in Creative Writing. What could be more perfect for someone who is obsessed with spelling and grammar?


Two semesters of college English and one horrible, bitter professor from Barbados, and I decided English was not the way for me to go. I didn’t want to be bitter and angry by the time I was 30, like the professor. I thought about it, and recalled that the one job I truly loved was the after school teacher’s aide position…So, despite my lifelong protests to the contrary (as my mother always said I should be a teacher), I switched my major to Elementary Education with specializations in English and Social Studies, and a second Spanish major. Then, when a Spanish specialization became available, I switched out the Social Studies (really, it’s mostly U.S. history, which is my least favorite) for that, and dropped the double major.


Later.