One message. One message can inspire anything, like completing an everyday task or doing something that makes a difference.

As I was running dry on story ideas, I received a message from my editor saying that everyone should tell something about themselves.

Instead of blowing up people’s phones, I just decided that an article on myself would be best for me to open up as my article for the week.

First of all, let me introduce myself, I’m Brenden Curry and I will be a junior at Millersville University studying Digital Journalism.

I’m very close with my family, both immediate and extended. I truly believe being adopted from South Korea, made me never take my family for granted.

I’m also a dog person and my love for dogs increased after my family adopted Finn from Greenmore Farm Animal Rescue in West Grove, PA.

I’ve been a sports fan all my life. The sports I mainly watch now are football and golf. With that in mind, I am a die-hard Notre Dame football fan and I show it proudly.

So proudly that I have received letters from former head coach, Charlie Weis, and Brian Kelly, the current head coach.

With my passion for sports, I hope to be a sportswriter, but I’m open to write about anything.

Alongside The Odyssey, my journalism credentials include writing for high school and college newspapers, and a high school internship with EasternPAFootball.com, where I covered my high school’s football team.

In two weeks, I will enter my third year covering Millersville University football for The Snapper, the student newspaper. My experience covering Avon Grove football helped me land my current journalism gig.

Most of my journalism memories have come from covering football games. Last year, I covered a game where regulation ended with the score at 0-0, and then went to five overtimes. Millersville, a Division II team ended up losing the game to Ursinus, a Division III school, 17-9.

Some other journalism highlights include Avon Grove lacrosse articles, profiles of individuals, and Millersville baseball.

One profile that stood out to me was writing about a Millersville student that I went to high school with who unfortunately passed away.

What made that story memorable for me as a writer was how his family appreciated my work. I will never forget the gratitude they showed me after I presented them a paper copy at the memorial service held at Millersville. I felt that I made a difference for both the Millersville and Avon Grove communities by writing it.

Writing has always been about making that difference. It has given me a way to express myself and has given me a voice.

A voice that I thought I would never have.

When I was six years old, I was diagnosed with Autism. During that time, I was very frustrated with communicating and expressing myself. Those difficulties made writing in elementary school something I wasn’t looking forward to. I would often have a scribe to write essays for me. If I didn't have one, I would crumple papers in frustration.

During the second half of sixth grade, I was introduced to technology that became the turning point of my life. I was introduced to Dragon Naturally Speaking, which is speech recognition software.

By speaking into my laptop by headset, this program allowed me to reach newer heights, both in school and in life. Dragon made me look forward to writing and have a positive attitude about it. With that positive attitude, it made me become more articulate in my writing, a skill that I lacked.

Ever since then, I’ve been using Dragon nonstop. From essays to articles, Dragon allowed me to write out my true inner self. It has saved me from the frustration I’ve experienced when I was younger.

It has also allowed me to become a more in-depth writer, a trait that all journalists should have. So in-depth to the point where I have to cut pages of material from final drafts of essay papers.

Dragon has also made me be a part of my community. By covering local sports, it has allowed me to combine my passion for sports and writing into one. In fact, I was voted “Most school spirit” because of my sports articles from high school.

It also helped me socially in high school. By being known as the football reporter, I became friendly with athletes, students, parents, teachers, etc. It also gave me self-confidence every time I conducted an interview.

That sense of being a part of the community has continued into college. I felt that sense whenever someone shares my articles on Facebook. I’ve also gotten positive feedback from the cheerleaders, especially after victories. This shows how fans of the team are appreciative of the work I’ve done to give the team exposure among the student body.

I now feel at ease when writing. Dragon allows me to know that I can be independent. Dragon helped me find my voice, and with that voice, I hope to continue to make a difference in the communities I write for now and in the future.

Thanks to Dragon, it made possible for me to write this piece. It also helped me act upon the story idea inspired by my editor. Hats off to my editor for giving me an innovative idea for a story.