The path of the writer is not straight and narrow. It turns a million times, twists into dark unknowns. It is a terrifying road; exhilerating. I never know where I'll end up. One day I will be in the greenest of gardens, the next in the desolate cold. The path makes no sense. Sometimes I walk backwards. Sometimes I falls under. Yet somehow I keep walking. I never end up in the same place twice. I can never go back where I came. The journey has changed the girl who began it. She would not recognize herself now. Beware the goblins, they walk the edges, ready to tear you away. To pull a girl away from the path. They are bitter and jealous because they cannot go where she's going. I don't know where this path leads. Perhaps it has no destination. Perhaps the trek is the importance and what is learned within is the reward for itself. Some say there's a castle in the clouds, and maybe someday I'll reach it. But if I do not, if that's not where this leads, then I will not feel heartbreak. Because a trepid child took the steps, began the adventure, followed the path. And who'd of thought she'd have gotten this far.

From the beginning, I wrote

I wrote about all kinds of things

Silly things, like how I was convinced my family members were covert vampires

Things that were important to me, like loved ones and pets

In the end, it all added up to one simple truth:

I loved to write

In my highschool years, I became more serious about writing

I was enthralled by it, entranced with it

In hopes of honing my skills, I took a creative writing class

And creative it allowed me to be

But it still wasn't quite the freedom,

The release of emotion,

The buildup of passion,

I so desired it to be

School ended for me,

My existence fading back into the warm, comfortable glow of home

Although, as years went by, I grew timid

Too scared to once again share my writing with the world

I was terrified, dealthy afraid of someone seeing my writing

My inner thoughts

All my emotions served on a silver platter

I couldn't overcome that sense of apprehension

But one day, I found a certain website,

And on that site, I witnessed how talented other writers were

More importantly, I noticed how kind and supportive they were

It was that comfort, that tidbit of reassurance,

That drew me back into the world I treasured,

The world I had longed for, hollow without my writing

The world of words

When you write that first word a piece of flint is struck against steel inside your imagination. The first time, it might not start a fire. It might not even spark. But if you write another word, it’s another strike. Maybe it doesn’t strike this time, but maybe it does. If it doesn’t, keep writing those words. Eventually, after many tries and many fails, the flint and the steel inside you will start a raging fire, one that keeps you going through winter, keeps you warm through pouring rain, keeps you safe. And then, my dear friend, you’re a writer.

My path as a writer? That’s a difficult question. It might help to answer through how I write. I want my writing style to sound as if I am having a conversation with my reader. I want it to seem relaxed, so my reader can relate. I enjoy making stories that keep people on the edge of their seat, and I enjoy striving to keep the reader in mystery. I enjoy writing because it allows me to express my feelings openly without outside objection or differing opinions. Here, I can be myself and say what I want without anyone else telling me what to say or how to say it. So to go back to the prompt, what’s my path as a writer? I’d like to think I chose this path of writing through Prose to express my feelings in the forms of stories and poems. I believe it only leads to fuel my creativity and make me a stronger writer for the future. I enjoy writing stories and don’t know how else I would express my feelings to others. When it comes to emotions, well you know me, I’m not very good at relating them to others. Often I get stuck and don’t know how to tell others how I feel. However, the path that I’ve taken has led me to here where I enjoy writing everyday in my free time. At first I was just trying it out, because why not? Then realizing how much fun I had making and publishing stories, getting my opinion out there, made me appreciate the writing form more in depth. I’m glad that my path has taken me down this road, leading me to meet a later community of young writers who may also feel the same way that I do.

Thank you!