How Writing as a Teen changed my life

 

A few weeks ago, I graduated from high school...

It was amazing, but it also felt like a chapter of my life was coming to a close. I realized that I am starting to venture out into the adult world. I will soon leave home, start college, and be a independent being. 

The thought is both exciting and scary, and it leaves me feeling nostalgic of my teenhood. 

I remember when I a few weeks before my 13th birthday, I used to follow people on blogs who took pictures and were Christians and came across a blog post about Camp NaNoWriMo. Me, being my enlightened 12-year-old self, thought that it was an actual summer camp for writers and was so excited and wanted to sign up for it. 

When I finally learned what it was, I delved into the amazing world of author tube and writing blogs. I scoured articles from the Writer's Digest, K.M. Weiland's blog series on writing (though I could hardly understand any of the terms like story structure or character arcs), and other blogs like Well Storied. 

I began to write, and it was everything to me. I did not own a laptop, so I scratched everything onto paper and a mobile version of Word and Google Doc.

In 2019, I remember participating in my first NaNoWriMo before joining the forums the next year and meeting so many friends. 

This is not a post to brag on my writing or to even teach anything. I suppose it is more of a reflection of my teen hood as I am finishing this stage of my life. Writing is not my only hobby, but it is certainly my greatest passion. 

By not stopping myself from exploring this passion, I have decided careers I want to pursue and met so many friends along the way who have changed my life. Back in 2020, in lockdown, I remember going through a really rough time being isolated. Writing and delving into my fictional worlds gave me such space to find joy in those hard times. 

Writing or any other hobby may not be that close to your heart, but I encourage if you or any other young person you know is discouraged in pursuing a passion, encourage them. Whether that be writing, music, art, or science--they don't have to be great at it, but if it brings them joy, push them to become even better at it!

Passions don't define us; I have gone through long months of not writing a single word, but that doesn't mean it made me a failure or was something I no longer enjoyed. We sometimes change as people, find new passions and hobbies, or come back to them. When I was 10-13, you could not take a camera out of my hand as I was extremely passionate with photography. Now, I am not as I used to be, but it has changed to loving graphic design instead. 

Remember to feed a flame you see in a young person or even in yourself.