We’ve all been shaped by one person or another in our lives. The people around us help form and mold us into the people we’re going to become. This isn’t a process that ever stops, but it continues all throughout our lives. I’ve personally found the saying that people change people couldn’t be closer to the truth. If you hang out with people who care about school, you’re more likely to study more. And if all your friends drink coffee, more likely than not you’ll try a few cups yourself.

Growing up, I was obsessed with theater and writing, which confused some people in my family. No one else who I’m related to is into either of those things, so no one knew where my interest stemmed from. It was only until the beginning of this year that I myself knew the answer. While I agree with the above statement that people change people, for me, the idea that characters can change people is even more meaningful.

My favorite books when I was younger were “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott and the “Anne of Green Gables” series by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I spent my childhood writing plays with Joe, throwing snowballs with Teddy, and practicing my spelling with Amy. As I grew older, I walked the woods with Anne, strived for knowledge like Gilbert, and searched for a kindred spirit like Dana.

It truly blew my mind when I first realized how much Alcott and Montgomery had helped shape me into the person I am now. Though we’ve never met, I feel a connection to them much stronger than the person I sit next to in class every day. While the only breath that their characters have taken is the life these two women poured into them through the words on the page, these characters are more real to me than many other things in my life. To other people Josephine March and Anne Shirley are just two characters comprised of ink, but to me, they’re just as real as anyone else.

It is incredible how these two women just pulled an idea from their heads and created something from nothing, and it's the idea that nothing could so profoundly impact another human years later that makes stories and words so beautiful. It’s this idea that if you just so happen to string the right words together to form a sentence that you can create magic.

One day I want to visit Alcott and Montgomery’s graves and finally meet the women who inspired me to write, to grow, and to dream. It might sound weird, but it’s been on my bucket list for a long time. I feel like it’s the least I can do to thank the people in my life who have helped shape me the most. Since I’ve gotten to show appreciation for everyone else, I feel it only right that I one day thank them as well. People change people all the time and just because some of the people who change me might be comprised only of words doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t get the recognition they deserve.