Fiction, poetry, plays, etc, all fascinated me. I have always been interested in writing, specifically creative writing. Journalism also fascinates me. To me, writing of any genre gives people an outlet to let their imaginations roam wild and also gives them a safe space from the world. People could always catch me reading some dystopian book or listening to true crime books on Audible. However, I never thought to do creative writing myself, but that all changed when I had my favorite English teacher, Mrs. Danielle Epson, in my freshman year of high school. Throughout the year, my love for writing grew so much that I wanted to pursue it, and that was all because of Mrs. Epson. This extraordinary woman is a strict teacher, but she is a great one. I like to say that she “kept it real” with us students. I believe it all started when our class was assigned to read the novels, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man and A Raisin in the Sun. Not only were the books something great to read, but Mrs. Epson helped us understand the books in more depth and showed us how they can be related to society today and what African Americans as a whole are facing. Not only that, Mrs. Epson introduced me to the world of writing and its importance. If I didn’t understand the rules and tricks of literature, I would probably never believe that writing is challenging. The summer after my freshman year, I wrote a poem about the issues African Americans face using the knowledge that Mrs. Epson taught me. The poem is called “It’s Hard to Be Black” and I was able to perform it at a performing arts camp I go to. I am proud of what I wrote and performed; I put every personal feeling and experience that Black people as a whole face in America. I felt free when I wrote this poem. There were no limits whatsoever and that is what I loved about it. I was lucky to have Mrs. Epson again in my junior year, and that year, I fell even more in love with the limitless world of writing; she taught me how to hone my poetry skills and understand the first instances of English literature by acting as if I were characters from medieval literature. Because of Mrs. Epson, I have been writing since my freshman year. Most of my work has been poems or monologues, but I continue to come up with ideas for short stories and improve my writing skills. I aspire to give people the same feeling writing gave to me and so much more.