When I was in elementary school, I loved writing stories. I would be so excited to get a writing assignment in school and do daily writing in class. In fifth grade, I learned how to write poems and my teacher really liked them. I wanted to be an author when I grew up, I wanted be the next J.K. Rowling. Then the self doubt set in.

In middle school, I still tried to write stories sometimes. I would start them, get a few pages in, then a little voice in my head would say, “Lol this sucks”, and so I would delete it or throw it away. I gave up the idea of being an author and went into high school not really knowing what I wanted to do with my life.

I didn’t try to write stories again until I was a senior. I had moved to Iowa to spend my senior year there, at a brand new high school with new teachers, students, and new classes. One of the classes I picked for my first semester was creative writing. And it was the best decision ever!

We did all sorts of projects like writing a group superhero paper, trying different types of poetry, and filming and scripting our own commercials for a product that each of us created (this is my commercial if you're interested). One of the projects we did toward the end of the year was a ten page story. She gave us a prewriting worksheet to help us think about the setting and traits of our characters and a plot. I got a good grade for it and it really increased my confidence.

I think creative writing classes are needed in more schools. I believe they can teach people of all ages to think outside the box and with a different perspective, which can help with writing papers in almost any situation. Creative writing classes can help students realize a passion for writing. Not only that, but it’ll show them the type of writing they are capable of. After that class, I thought to myself, “Maybe I’m not as bad at storytelling as I thought.”