I truly never envision myself to be a writer; I never thought that people would care enough to read my ideas or take my thoughts into consideration, but I was wrong. Writing has been such an important outlet for me over the past year, as it gives me a productive way to express my opinions and feelings about topics that are relevant in my life.

In my youth, I was always an avid reader. I devoured every single page of every book, and with each new read, it felt like a beautiful challenge to reach the end. My love for literature started with "Elmer the Patchwork Elephant" and "The Rainbowfish" to "Junie B. Jones" and various Andrew Clements novels. It is true, I was smitten. In fourth grade, one of my best friends and I even tried to start our own mini library in our class, encouraging all the kids to check out the book, read it, and return it on time (in that order, of course).

I never realized that my love for books would soon turn into my love for words and writing my own pieces. My high school essays were never things that I dreaded, as some people groaned at the mere thought of writing a two-page paper. I was excited. Because 10th grade me thought nothing was cooler than translating my thoughts into an electronic essay that would soon go to Turnitin.com.

Now, I not only enjoy transferring my inner thoughts into words on paper, I recognize what a valuable tool writing is. It is not only a hobby for me, but it is extremely important in a professional capacity and when you want to convey your ideas to others in a more intricate manner.

In my opinion, writing is extremely underrated. I cannot be completely sure where this stems from, but it could easily be the fact that from our youth into adulthood, we are only encouraged to write for an assignment, rather than to reflect on our own ideas. Many of my friends have gotten into the habit of journaling; they say it is calming for themselves and that they also cannot wait to look back upon their sentiments in later years.

I always knew I had big ideas, and I always loved to talk whenever I could (still do, in case you where wondering.) However, the difference between writing and just speaking out loud is the idea of permanence. I know that by writing my thoughts down that they will always be there, and my words have also given me a platform to speak about topics I think are important, such as social justice and civil rights.

I think we should encourage one another to write. It is timeless. It is ageless. It is genderless. But above all, it is important.