My Introduction To Writing

I was 9 years old when I first became introduced to writing. 

Where It Started

It happened in my 3rd-grade classroom. I had my words and sentences down but I had never really combined them in a meaningful way. Sentences were spoken more than written and creating thought-out, correctly formatted stories was a new concept.

Mrs. Smith, an excellent teacher, taught my class how to write stories. I remember learning about descriptive words and sentence structures. Formatting our words into sentences and then grouping those sentences into paragraphs.

The Journey

I started writing basic stories about my weekends. I wrote about my friends and the adventures that we had. It was nothing fancy (it wasn’t all that interesting) but for my 3rd-grade self, it was simply learning how to write. I explained my time with friends from the lens of a 9-year-old with imagination. 

I vividly remember writing in class and having the thought “someone else will read what I write here – I get to choose what it is”. I became invested in trying to entertain. I wanted whoever read my stories to laugh and enjoy them. I also felt the need to go out of my way to explain every detail. I loved to talk as a kid (probably too much) and this was evident in my writing. I remember nearly failing a timed writing test with 3 prompts because I devoted all of my time endlessly writing out the 1st one.

How It’s Going

I eventually learned to hate the task of writing after discovering expository college English essays, but for a moment there, it was something that I found fun. I enjoyed writing and sharing stories with my friends and seeing what we could create. I’m 21 now, and aside from classwork, I don’t really write anymore.

At the time, writing allowed me to express ideas and try out different styles of storytelling. I think that that initial introduction to storytelling influenced my current interest in video and filmmaking. I now find joy in entertaining people with stories through the lens of a camera. The medium has changed – but the overall goal has remained the same; express ideas and tell a story that people will enjoy.