I've struggled with mental health since eighth grade and felt that I would forever be alone in my battles. I didn't understand why it felt like so suddenly, my world was dark and I forgot how to be that happy child. By writing, not only have I helped myself process what I've gone through, but I could also help people learn about mental health issues and experiences, and maybe help them through their own. That's what storytelling can do. It can show people that they are not alone. Stories have a hold on people. Why else do we pick a tale of romance or fantasy and dive face-first into it? People read for an escape. People tell stories as an escape. I write stories as an escape. It's not only an outlet for me to think for the first time in what could feel like months, it's something I enjoy, something I want to do for the rest of my life. Stories can bring people closer together. Themes, genres, and stories have gathered a following for years. BookTok and Bookstagram are prime examples. Books blow up for their themes of romance and others for their representation of mental health. Mental health representation is so important in a world where people still believe it doesn't exist, and that people need to just "get over" their depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. These thoughts are isolating enough on their own, having no support is even worse. Stories can also get people to realize what is happening. Seeing a character grow through a loss, a slip in their mental health, or something like that could bring relief to someone who is struggling. I've recently read "The Darkness That Follows Us" by Lana Vargas. It's a romance story where the main character has suffered a great loss and is still trying to figure out how to move on from it. I saw myself in him so many times that it was scary. I related to his thoughts and even more so his words. I lost my great-grandmother back in 2019, and I thought I'd be over it by now. I'm not. I don't know if I ever will be. But that story helped me remember that it's okay to not be okay. One day, time will heal. I'd forgotten that. That story helped me remember. I hope that my stories will help people take a break from life. Sometimes you just need an escape. If people can learn something about themselves through my stories, or just enjoy the ride, then I think I've succeeded. I'll always give it my all when I write. These stories are a part of me, to the depths of my soul. I hope people enjoy them as much as I enjoy writing them.

Writing is my lifeline. It brings me so much joy. It's an escape. A tool. A power. I have been writing since I was a child, basing my short stories on whatever TV show I watched that day. It wasn't until my eighth-grade year that I realized it was what I wanted to do. With writing you can tell the stories of the worlds in your head, tell stories of the characters, and write the happy endings you've always wanted. I throw myself into my work and I can't stop. My stories always play in my head. My fingers always itch to hit the keys because I cannot live without writing. I can't imagine my life without writing. When I couldn't tell my family the problems I was dealing with, and when I couldn't find the words to express the slip in my mental health. I wrote. I wrote poems, I wrote my feelings out through my characters. After one of the darkest moments of my life, I wrote it into a play to cope. No one knew what I went through, but they said my peer reviewers said it was a moving play. Realistic. Something that needed to be said. A peer said they related to it as well. When my own words fail to speak for me, I can write them out in my story and finally process what I'm going through. I don't know where I would be if it wasn't for writing. I've found new confidence through writing and even more with the support I've received from my friends and family. My parents take such an interest in the stories I'm writing and even bought my books. It seems so simple to others, but with such a risky dream that some consider unrealistic and idiotic, I'm so happy to have supporters behind my back. It was with their support that I was able to publish my debut novel last year. I was able to keep going despite all of the doubt in my mind. When my book was released, my family posted all about it on Facebook and so many people I didn't know ordered my book online. Just recently, my sister sent a quote from my book just out of the blue. No warning, no reason, just because she liked it. It made me want to cry. My dad ordered his copy without telling me and opened it in front of me and I nearly burst into tears. It's the support that helps me keep going, and I'm forever grateful for that. No matter what I face or who doubts me, I won't stop writing. It doesn't matter if my books don't sell. I want to write and tell the stories that live in my head, and I'm going to do it one way or another.

I'm pursuing a career in writing because I want to tell my stories to the world. I've been writing stories since I was small, and didn't realize it was my passion until eighth grade. I have numerous book ideas, and I'm in the process of editing the first draft of my debut novel. I have so many stories to tell and I'm going to do it, nothing is gonna stop me.

A women i admire in my life is my mother. My mother was the oldest of three, and from an early age she took care of her brothers. She got a job at 15 and a car because, in her words, "So I can drive my brothers around," My mom got pregnant with my sister when she was 19. She broke up with her boyfriend because he wasn't helping, also because he cheated on her during her pregnancy, and she was a single mother until she met my father. My father and mother married on June 28th 2003, and I was born October 29th 2004. My mother became the stepmother to my four other siblings, three brothers and one sister. In a 3 bedroom home, she helped raised all six of us. I don't remember much about living with my siblings, (the second youngest sibling is 12 years older than me), but I do remember the bunkbeds. I love my mother, she may call me to do chores at the most inconvenient times, but I don't mind that much. Mom's done a lot of things for me, and I love her a lot. She's proven that you can get through everything. She's amazing! Now, I just got to figure out what to get her for mother's day.