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Learned to Love Writing

How Writing Became My Escape

By Michelle HillPublished 6 years ago 7 min read
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When I was younger, I didn't really enjoy writing as much as the next person. I did enjoy reading though. But, there was something about writing that just made me want to throw out the pen and paper. It could have been the hand cramps, or the topics in English class I never enjoyed. I was fourteen at the time. I wanted to hang out with my friends, play sports, go to the movies, just have a good time and have fun. That was until I started to daydream and had to get these ideas on paper.

I remember one of my teachers saying to write down whatever the class was feeling if we ever got stuck on a paper. I never really put that to use, until my final summer in Okinawa. I was your typical fourteen year old, playing outside with my friends, hanging out at the movie theatres, playing sports, just having the time of my life. One day I was at the playground, no one was around. It was noon, for some reason that's my favorite part of the day. I laid down on the ground and just looked up and saw the clouds. That's when I started to make up a story.

At first, I didn't really know what was going on. But for the first time ever I forgot about everything. The stress of moving back to the states. The worry of making new friends, again. The fear of starting high school without my friends. Wondering if high school would be as great as those movies I loved to watch over and over again. All of those feelings went away.

I got up and rushed to the apartment in the high rise we were in. My sister was watching TV and I just went straight to my room to find a piece of paper or a blank notebook. I grabbed my school things and found my binder. I searched and searched until I found a few pieces of blank paper and a red pen. I turned on my stereo and hit play. The familiar tunes of Linkin Park started to play and I jumped on my bed. I paused for a moment wondering what to write. Then, I remembered the clouds.

The first thing I remember was seeing a cloud that looked like a dragon, and the words just started to flow. All of sudden I pictured myself as this Knight trying to save the kingdom. I was forgot where I was and I didn't hear my sister telling me my friends were waiting for me. I kept writing. At the time I didn't think it was that typical story. Knight fights a dragon and saves the kingdom. I just kept writing until I couldn't write anymore. When I finally stopped it was close to dinner time.

Having a Filipino mom and a Southern dad you have to be at the table for dinner time. Talked about the normal stuff mostly. Mom and dad setting up the plans for the move. My sister telling me what I missed out on earlier. I kept my writing a secret because both my parents wanted me to succeed in either sports or academics. I've heard things about writers waiting years to get published. At this point in time I wanted to be a soccer player. That was my goal, but this small voice told me to keep writing.

My hand was itching to get the pen in my hand again. I never had that feeling before. It scared me to a point, but it also excited me. It didn't take long for me to start staying up late and writing. Normally I would either be working out with make shift weights, or reading the newest Harry Potter book. Speaking of Harry Potter, I just happened to have the book right next to me and I picked it up. I looked at the authors name and I started to think, really think.

That night was the night I knew I wanted to grow as a writer. I never finished that story because I got stuck. But that didn't stop me from writing down words that would come into my mind. It didn't stop me from writing lyrics to my favorite songs. It didn't stop me from writing some sort of poem. Then, it dawned on me. I could write stories based on my experiences and putting my friends in my stories.

Flash forward to my freshman year in high school. I didn't really know anyone expect for the kids I hung out with in my neighborhood. I kept to myself a lot. Even when the teachers did the ice breaker exercises. During free periods I would open my extra notebook and just write. I remember writing a Roswell fan-fiction. For me that was the ice breaker to break into the world of writing.

I forgot about everything all around me. Sometimes I didn't even hear the bell ring to end the period. I would get home, do some homework and go hangout with my friends. Then, I would go back up to my room after dinner, and turn on the radio, finish my homework and continue to write. The radio playing softly in the background and I would get lost again. Before I knew it, time would get away from me. But I never minded it, because when I would go to sleep, I would dream about my characters.

Throughout high school my English teachers praised my papers. Even I shocked myself. I even discovered more authors through the librarians at the school library. They introduced me to different books and they told me which ones they highly recommended. I found out one of the authors was able to get published at just thirteen years old. Her books let me escape just like my writing. It was then, I was more motivated than ever. I just had to find the write story.

Years go by, and I started and stopped a few stories thinking they weren't good enough. I wrote a Harry Potter fan-fiction, and even a couple of original stories. But I was never consistent t with them. It would take me months even years to write just one chapter. I started the Harry Potter fan-fiction when I was nineteen, I finished it when I turned twenty-three. Life was getting in the way and I was losing my passion. That was until last year the spark was reignited.

Last year I took a trip to see one of my favorite bands. Even got to meet them. It wasn't until the next day I jumped on my laptop and started to write. I wrote non stop for a good seven hours. Three cups of coffee in the late night hours and the passion was there again. I was escaping again. Getting lost in my own little world again. I was obsessed again.

Ten months of long nights, late night cups of coffee, writer's block, and lots of pacing back and forth. I was back, and this time I wasn't giving up. I have completed my first story and now I'm perfecting it. Took me a lot of incomplete stories, poems, and blogs to get here, but I'm here. I was at the point of almost giving up. Then, I remembered what most authors go through to get to where they are. They never gave up.

I guess what I'm trying to say, is even when your dream seems too far fetched; keep trying. You'll get there. Yeah, I haven't finished my other stories, but I did finish one and I do plan to keep going. I think back to that day when I was fourteen looking up at the clouds. When ever I get stuck I remember the cloud shaped dragon. Inspiration is all around you, you just have to let it come to you. Let it hit you out of nowhere.

You'll find it, and when you do, don't let it go. You're escape is there, just be patient. You'll be able to achieve anything. Just put your mind to it and it'll happen for you. We all have dreams, and we all want to reach those dreams. We have to work for them and in the end the work will pay off. Keep going, don't stop. Even when you get stuck, leave it for a bit then come back.

Keep dreaming and you'll see it come true.

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About the Creator

Michelle Hill

I'm 35 and taking each day one at a time. Writing is my passion and I'm also a huge movie buff. Music is another way I escape reality for a while. I live in VA, and I have traveled a bit. I hope to share my words with the world.

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