I've been writing ever since I learned how to. Literally – I remember writing the beginnings of books in notebooks as early as the age of three. I loved it. Simply put, it was a passion. My head was bursting with ideas for books to create, and to this day, I still have notebooks upon notebooks piled in my bedroom full of unfinished stories from my childhood. Growing up, I wanted to be many different things. But for a good chunk of time, I wanted solely to be an author. Writing was and is second-nature to me. For one semester, my major in college was even journalism. However, I realized I like creative writing more, which is why I started writing for Odyssey.

Writing releases my inner thoughts. The words that spin around in my brain can be put into coherent paragraphs and pages when I open my laptop to write. Writing stories, opinions, even papers – all of these things provide a channel for me to release the words in my head better than talking ever could. I give credit to the people who are amazing, renowned public speakers. I could never do that. In fact, I've tried. Even speaking to a crowd of three can be daunting for me. However, when I write, I am able to articulate my thoughts so much better and present my works in a much more interesting and engaging way. I love writing for the outlet it gives me. And although I don't write books like I used to, I still have ideas for potential stories which are neatly stored in a folder on my laptop.

One of the reasons I'm glad I switched my major to cinematic arts is for the writing factor. Last semester, I submitted a 67-page script for my screenwriting class final. Although I may not ever pursue that script professionally, creating something that large and significant was a huge accomplishment for me. Writing constantly teaches me patience. Even when I write something that I think might be good, I always have to read and re-read it, making necessary adjustments until it becomes exactly the way I want it. In a way, writing is like the shaping of potter's clay. You start with an idea or an outline, which is the block of clay. From there, your hands dive into the idea and start molding it into the approximate shape you'd like it to be. And from there, it's just a constant cycle of refining it and refining it until the final, presentable end product is created. If ever you heard that writing is an art, the person who said that was correct.

I write to give the world a better view of who I am as a person. I write to express the thoughts I have inside my head that I do not have enough time, or sometimes even enough courage, to say out loud. I write to create stories, to engage people's minds and bring them into different realities even if for just a short period of time. In summary, I write because I love it. And though I know that writing is not something that everyone enjoys, it will always be a passion of mine.