To put it simply, creative writing is the writing of the soul. It expresses a person's inner suffering, thoughts, dreams, desires, and goals. For some, that means writing an imaginary memoir of a long-forgotten war; for others, it is writing a poem that screams at the grim reaper for fulfilling his duty. For the longest time, I dreamed of being in the books I read, of being the white knight who rescues his beloved princess or the forsaken soldier whose final mission is to take revenge for the loss of his family. I wanted to be the one who stood against adversity, rode dragons across the sky, and stood defiantly against death. Unfortunately, as I grew older, I realized I could never achieve many of the feats I so dreamed of. However, even with that realization, I can't give up my love for such stories. For me, a fantasy or sci-fi realm will always be the place I can go to be free from reality. It is for that very reason that I am studying creative writing. I want to create a place of my own where I can share the worlds, characters, and animals that I have imagined over the years. I know that it will be a long route to get to where I want to be, so I have a few goals that I want to reach to help me achieve my dreams. My first goal is to get a degree that will allow me to enter a job in writing. Then I will hopefully get a job in editing, which will allow me to gain connections with other authors and build a steady career while I am trying to get my career as an author off the ground. After that, I will hopefully make enough connections to get in contact with a good publication company and a good editor. That will allow me to produce a higher quality work and circulate it more easily. This will help me reach my goal of being a successful author. My biggest wish for for my writing is to provide others the same feeling that I got from authors in my life. I want to create worlds where people can escape from the stress and problems of the real world and follow a protagonist as they fight against the problems of the world they live in. I want people to be able to place themselves as the heroes of the worlds I create, fighting demon lords and saving princesses of their own. Put simply, I want to give people a place or places where they can be the hero and feel truly free and at home.

If I had to pick one person in my life who I would consider more of a role model than anybody else, I would pick my grandfather. He is a policeman in Richmond, CA and has taught me a great deal about life. He is strong, dependable, and an excellent husband (although there are times when my grandmother would probably disagree, usually when he is egging on the dogs as they bark or tuning out the world during his downtime). My grandfather lives life to the beat of his own drum, and he speaks his mind clearly. He does what he feels is right, is kind to those who deserve it, and is respectful to those who have made mistakes but are trying to make amends. When someone he cares about is hurt or in trouble, he will do whatever it takes to help them. His time on the force is a perfect example of his impact on the people around him. A few years ago, after the Police Department conducted the regular switching of beats, the people in my grandfather's original beat called and sent letters demanding that the PD send him back as he treated them with respect and as human beings, instead of just people to be overseen. The community has sent in multiple letters of praise and commendation, showing their trust and respect for him. One great story that indicates the trust and respect he has earned is about a repeat drug offender. The mother of the offender trusted my grandfather to treat her son fairly, enough so that she called him and told him what her son was doing. She did so knowing that my grandfather would treat her son fairly and properly. My grandfather has a philanthropic side as well. When he sees people that he knows are in great need, he gathers materials that he feels they are in need of such as food, toiletries, and clothes. Then, he anonymously contributes the items he gathers to those who need them. There have been times where he goes so far as to help people make a new start in lodging or employment. My grandfather also has a tender side that he rarely shows, even to those around him. I remember my mom telling me that when his dog, a black and tan dachshund named Davidson, passed away, he wept. I have to admit, I was in shock. The strong, imperturbable man that I knew, shedding tears? Unbelievable! Now that I think back, however, it makes perfect sense. Davidson was my grandfather's best friend. Of course, he would cry. I can't help but admire that because it makes me realize that my grandfather is not just a goal that I can only dream of achieving; he's a real, emotion-filled man that I can talk to, joke around with, and learn from. There are many lessons to be learned from my grandfather's actions. His steadfast, hardworking, and honest way of living show that strength and dependability come from proof of actions rather than word of mouth. His straightforward way of thinking and his ability to judge people's character accurately are lessons in how people should act towards one another. His tenderness shows that no matter how old someone is, they are never too old to weep for those they love or to show they care about them. His philanthropy shows that helping people in need should always be for those in need and not for those giving the gifts. In the future, I plan to use the lessons he taught me as the foundation for the man I will become. When I find the job I love, I will work hard and earn the respect of those around me. I will cherish the ones I love even more than he does. I will help the unfortunate as much as I can, and I will do so anonymously. I will do everything in my power to follow his example and become the best person I can be. I only hope that I can one day positively affect just as many people, if not more, and that they can view me as the type of role model that my grandfather, no, my papa, is to me.

When I go to college, I will major in Japanese and Communications. That is because my dream job is to be an accomplished author in Japan. I would also like to be an editor at a major publishing company. The majors that I will work towards will help me make my way towards that goal. If I ever reached the level of success where I was financially stable enough to do so, I would like to use the experience I gained from my majors to start my own publishing company. That way I could encourage and support young authors looking for publishers to work with them.