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I remember being really young, probably around three, but the age where I couldn’t understand things properly but being entranced by books and my ability to sound out the smallest words made me feel so smart, so special. My mom would always tell me stories about how all the other kids my age were super hyper but she could leave me in front of a book and come back to find me in the same place, still reading. -
I graduated from basics school, which is like Jamaican Pre-k, with flying colors. I was top girl and won lots of trophies specifically for excelling in my reading level, and was known by my teacher and family for being a “real scholar” they told me my hard work would get me far. -
I dressed up as a teacher for my schools career day when i started 1st grade. I was only there for a short while but the memory sticks with me. I read a book to the class that day, I really felt like I was teaching someone, maybe even learned something myself. -
In 3rd grade I wrote a speech to my whole school after being picked for the assembly during black history month. I was the only person in 3rd grade picked, the rest of the people were 8th graders.
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The book “A Wrinkle in Time” literally warped time for me. If i didn’t see the movie and read the book i probably would have never had a passion for writing but the story captivated me in a way that i don’t think any other thing i’ve ever read has before. Definitely a core memory for me and made me want to make my own stories too. -
I think opening the tiktok during COVID and finding about the site ao3 might have been heaven sent. I’ve never been on a website with so many modern day Shakespeare’s who spend their time writing fanfictions with their own custom plots about just any and every show you can think of. I’ve always been a reader but Ao3 (and Wattpad) have expanded my horizons. -
I’ve always been interested in thriller and horror books and i’ve known about the author James Patterson Before because my sister collects his diary style books he writes too. But while i was thrifting i found the book “Confessions of a Murder Suspect” and went down a. crazy rabbit hole. I’ve read so many of his books now, (like A LOt) they’re extremely interesting and the way he plays with character depth and the way the narrator tells a story (especially in that book is crazy interesting. -
In 7th grade I wrote a memoir about the scar I have above my right eyebrow. The scar has a story, one that almost scared my mom to death. I thought it was simple, but very descriptive, and I got a tremendous amount of praise for it. That memoir was shown to the next years class as an “excellent” example, and also got me my position as a peer tutor, helping other kids write essays and for the rest of my 8th grade year. -
I’ve been writing my own short stories for ages, but I developed an extensive plot for my own book called “Monophobe” a while back. It never ended up going anywhere but I think if I had the passion it could. Reading inspired me to create my own stories and this was an example of that. -
I own just about all the Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries books. These are literally a treasure to me, I can’t explain the level of nostalgia they fill me with and they kinda represent a token of my childhood that I like to keep next to me on my bookshelf.