Everyone loves a good story; they’re filled with suspense, excitement and hopefully some emotional substance. Instead of telling you all about stories, I’m going to tell my story instead.

I grew up in a family of four. Instead of teaching at a school with her degree, my mother home schooled us. Growing up, I struggled with reading and writing. I would always argue with my mom when she gave me an essay and I would turn it into an oral presentation instead. It wasn’t until I started getting into novels and writing stories I realized writing wasn’t so bad.

I never wanted to go to college. I didn’t think I would do well. When my mom told me I had to go to community college for at least one year, I wasn’t happy. Respecting my mother, I decided to just get it over with. I had surprisingly placed higher than most students place in English and my first semester, I was put in “English Composition I” and just hoped for the year to go by quickly.

On my first day, I was assigned a paper. I was worried it would be something hard and kept thinking, “I can’t do this. What was I thinking?” The assignment’s focus was the end of the world and three things we would take with us. I was shocked; I hadn’t been interested in apocalypse films and books, so I had no idea what I was going to do.

By the time I finished my paper and turned it in, I began to feel a little more confident in my writing abilities. When I got my grade back, it was an “A” with a comment, saying “Nice job. I loved your story.” Since then, I have continued to fall more in love with writing the more I do it. The memory of my mother pushing me to write seems transparent now; I understand she was only trying to encourage me to be better because she knew I could.

I tribute a large part of why I fell in love with writing to my composition teacher, who believed in me and pushed me to do better. He always gave us a vague topic, one we could make into an original concept. With the help of my mother giving me the push I needed to pursue my education, I now realize I can do it. I currently reside in the honors dorm and am working towards a Journalism major, with a minor in Communications. Someday, I hope to be a successful radio/television host, or an accomplished writer for an accredited publication. Hard work really does pay off.