When I was in sixth grade, I started reading a book series that ended up changing my life.

Now, I bet you're wondering, "how can your life be changed at such a young age? By a book of all things??"

Introducing: The Clique Series, by Lisi Harrison! A story of the stereotypical rich girl, her friends, and the new girl at school (this book choice of mine shouldn't come as a shock to you). The general concept of this book series followed the story of the queen bee of the school, and the girl who just wanted to fit in. To my 12-year-old self, I was captivated with every page I read. It had everything I wanted to read in a book: drama, boy talk, middle school mid-life crises, catchy and cliché book titles, and more drama. 15 books in the series, five books individually about each main character, and a "Cliquetionary" book (yes, 21 books total) later, it was deemed my favorite series for years.

You're probably thinking, "okay, great, but where does writing come into all of this?"

Well, after reading the first couple books in the series, I was inspired to start writing something like what I've been reading. I enjoyed the way I could easily keep up with what was happening, and felt like some of the content in each novel was relatable. I wanted to have a similar style as what was formed in these books, but I also wanted to make it my own. So, I got on my dad's dinosaur-of-a-computer and started typing.

That was in 2009. After seven years, and three different laptops, I'm still periodically working on it. It's over 200 pages and I plan on writing more, but I've been in a rut with the story. However, this is where I've discovered my love for writing, especially novels.

Starting to write a novel in 6th grade brought me to where I am today. I have found that writing has provided me an outlet for a lot. Even before middle school, the amount of journals I filled with random stories from what had happened that day was a lot. Whether I was mad, sad, confused, excited or anything else, I wrote it down in the nearest notebook I could find, and enjoyed writing whatever I had to say (this sounds like I'm describing a diary. Disclaimer: I'm not).

Writing was always an option for me when I needed to sort through my thoughts, plan out what to say, and more. I'm glad I found my voice through that, and I hope to incorporate this throughout the rest of my college years, along with the rest of my life.

This form of inspiration doesn't happen for everyone, and not everyone can find their passion and voice through writing, but I encourage you to try it if you haven't. Write a story, jot down your thoughts on anything you'd like, and share it with others. I wouldn't have ever been comfortable writing and sharing articles that I've written with the Odyssey without the support I've gotten from my parents, previous teachers, and all of my friends throughout the years.

I'm glad I'm starting to find my voice more in writing, and I have Lisi Harrison to thank for starting this lifelong writing journey of mine. I hope you enjoy the future content I lay out for you all, because I plan on writing for a long time.