Dear Julie Plec,
I was only 12 years old when the pilot for The Vampire Diaries first aired on television.
My mom is actually the one who got me into it. After watching the first episode the both of us became hooked, and it started up a new weekly thing for us to watch a new episode together every single Thursday; TVD Thursday's!
Every episode and every season just got better and better, and eventually my mom and I ended up making many, many amazing and fun-filled trips down to Atlanta to take tours of the outdoor sets; we even attended three Eyecon Conventions and met almost the entire cast which is something I will never forget. It definitely created a cool and fun bond between my mom and I.
Once I got to see more of what went on behind the scenes, I became extremely interested in the writing process and how amazing it would be to create a story like that and make it a sort of reality for entertainment.
Ever since I was just a child, I've always constantly written small and sometimes crazy long stories. I've always been a story-teller, anyone who knows me could tell you that. I love telling stories, and I really love writing them.
I never put too much thought into it as a career choice because I just always kind of thought of it as a hobby of mine. As time went on, and as I got older, I really started getting deeper into my writing and my creativeness began to grow. I became curious about the possibilities of being a writer and if I was even good enough to do it.
I keep up with you on Twitter, so I decided to do some research to see how you got to where you are now because your writing is amazing and it always keeps me and everyone else completely hooked and wanting more and more. I really look up to you as inspiration and as a strong and successful woman with an amazing job that I'd love to have one day. You inspired me to aspire do what I love, and to not be afraid to aspire it. You helped me realize that being a writer and to create stories and share them with the world is what I ultimately want to do. You gave me the confidence in myself as a young woman from a small town to do greater and bigger things.
I am now 19 years old and a freshman in college. I write articles for Odyssey, which you may be reading this off of now. I attend Ohio University Southern in Ironton, Ohio. I plan on getting my Associates Degree in Electronic Media which has to do with the film industry and learning how to work cameras, edit, record audio in a studio and even more. I've really gotten amazing opportunities so far with working on a set, filming college sports games, and getting to work with ESPN 3 in Athens, Ohio. The program I'm in teaches students how to direct, produce, script write, news anchor, and edit film/t.v. episodes. I realize that the industry I want to work in is all about connections, so I'm really trying to make as many as I can by taking as many opportunities possible.
After getting my Associates Degree in Electronic Media, I plan on getting my Bachelors Degree in English so that I can better my writing skills further.
My biggest dream is to someday become a writer of a television show, and to perhaps also write a book series or two.
I write an open letter to you in hopes that you may see this and maybe even reach out to me with a reply. It'd be a dream of mine even to just sit down and talk with you about everything you do and to maybe get some advice on what paths would be smart for me to take in order to someday achieve this dream of mine.
Thank you for giving me the inspiration, the confidence, and the drive to go after what I've truly always wanted to do. Thank you for all the entertainment and amazing writing that came with The Vampire Diaries. It was a special show that somehow helped guide me in real life to realize what I want to do, and it's shaped who I am today. Thank you for inspiring me to follow my dreams.
